A regional effort seeking to impact their situation
HAVANA TIMES – A group of human rights organizations from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua presented on April 11, 2024, the regional campaign “It’s happening again,” which highlights the situation of political prisoners in the three Latin American countries in the face of the rise of totalitarianism.
The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness and demand an end to imprisonment for political reasons amid the increasing repression in the region. The campaign reminds us that political imprisonment is not only an “act of illegal detention” but also an oppressive tool.
“People imprisoned for political reasons in our countries deserve immediate freedom, reparations, and guarantees of a dignified life, in freedom and without fear of harassment or repression,” states the emerging initiative on its website.
The campaign is driven by Cubalex, the Cuban Youth Dialogue Table, Prisoners Defenders (PD), the Association of Nicaraguan Political Prisoners, the Reflection Group of Ex-political prisoners, the Legal Defense Unit, Defend Venezuela, and Voices of Memory.
“It’s happening again” does not aim to lobby, but to communicate what people deprived of liberty for political reasons are experiencing, the spokespersons of the participating organizations stated at a press conference.
Víctor Navarro, a journalist and former Venezuelan political prisoner, recalled that visibility campaigns are highly valuable in authoritarian contexts. “Let’s not underestimate the power of a tweet and the impact of social networks; many have been released thanks to these practices,” he said.
The reporter argued that the visibility of individual cases of the incarcerated can help open negotiation spaces for their release.
Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders, said one of the campaign’s objec
