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Democracies must pressure Venezuela’s regime to end its criminalization of the opposition and to dismantle its machinery of repression. There can be no true democratic transition while the judiciary remains a tool to silence those who demand respect for the will of the Venezuelan people.
Even those released face ongoing persecution. Guanipa, for example, has been blocked by the state from renewing his identity documents for 10 years, which has left him without a valid passport since 2019.
The Venezuelan judicial system continues to be weaponized against dissent. According to Foro Penal, 568 prisoners of conscience remain unjustly behind bars.
Despite receiving a notice of “full freedom,” Guanipa’s judicial process remains open, illustrating that political persecution in Venezuela has not ceased.
www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...
While the dictatorship presents releases as "concessions," many former prisoners of conscience continue to face unfounded charges of terrorism and treason, remaining subject to restrictive measures that prevent the full exercise of their civil and political rights.
The implementation of the regime’s recent amnesty law has been selective and flawed.
HRF welcomes the release of prisoners of conscience in Venezuela, including opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of María Corina Machado, but expresses concern that the regime’s repressive apparatus remains intact under Delcy Rodríguez.
In 2025, Mhlanga endured 72 days of pre-trial detention on baseless charges after interviewing a dissident and former ruling party member who called for dictator Emmerson Mnangagwa to resign.
www.cjr.org/the-intervie...
The same day, lawmaker Sengezo Tshabangu publicly announced his intention to introduce a parliamentary motion to strip Mhlanga of his passport for “unpatriotic conduct.” x.com/HeraldZimbab... bulawayo24.com/index-id-new...
The next day, information minister Zhemu Soda called Mhlanga’s speech “malicious” and invoked draconian provisions in Zimbabwe’s penal code that criminalize criticism of the regime under the vague guise of patriotism and national sovereignty.
In a Feb. 18 address at the Geneva Summit, Mhlanga denounced how the regime in Zimbabwe has weaponized the law to crush dissent and manipulated the constitution to consolidate power. He called for global diplomatic pressure on the regime. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or3h...
HRF condemns regime threats of prosecution and smears against journalist Blessed Mhlanga in retaliation for discussing repression in Zimbabwe in a speech at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Zimbabwe’s actions prove Mhlanga’s points — the very points for which he is being persecuted.
HRF calls on the WGAD to investigate her case, determine that her detention is arbitrary, and demand her immediate release. hrf.org/latest/hrf-d...
In November 2025, HRF submitted a joint petition with Freedom Now and the Lantos Foundation to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Ingabire’s behalf.
She has been imprisoned since June 2025 on trumped-up charges, based on her alleged role in a training where her supporters read Serbian activist Srdja Popovic’s book “Blueprint for Revolution” on nonviolent civil resistance. en.igihe.com/justice/arti...
The comments came ten days before Ingabire’s appearance before the Supreme Court to challenge the legal basis for her detention.
On Feb. 21, in a speech to the Rwandan community in Paris, Rwandan Minister for National Unity and Civic Engagement Jean Damascène Bizimana branded Ingabire, a peaceful advocate for democracy, a "terrorist." www.therwandan.com/concerns-rai...; youtu.be/0WSDOhHnJDU?...
The Rwandan regime and dictator Paul Kagame have repeatedly issued public smears and chilling threats against Ingabire, who was previously imprisoned between 2011 and 2018 on baseless charges.
HRF condemns the Rwandan regime’s public smears against jailed opposition leader Victoire Ingabire ahead of her Supreme Court hearing this week to challenge her arbitrary imprisonment.
Read the full article and explore the Tyranny Tracker: www.democracywithoutborders.org/40940/
Last week, we launched the Tyranny Tracker, a new framework to identify when democratic erosion becomes authoritarian rule. Democracy Without Borders highlights how the tracker strengthens global democracy efforts by sharpening how regimes are classified and where accountability is needed most.
In recent weeks, plainclothes agents suspected to be members of the security forces have abducted and beaten several of the regime's political opponents, including NCA members Naboth Sirora and Innocent Taruona on Feb. 26 and Baird Gore of the Constitution Defenders Forum on Feb. 17.
Sunday’s attack is one incident in a wider campaign of repression against critics of the constitutional amendment.
Prof Lovemore Madhuku, who is also a prominent law professor, gave a press conference denouncing the attack as “barbarism.” He reiterated the NCA’s determination to oppose Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his rule. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcl5...
Madhuku reported that police assaulted his party members and fired shots in the air while masked men brutally beat him with batons. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYRI...
(...) where the party was meeting to discuss its strategy for opposing a controversial constitutional amendment that would extend presidential term limits.
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) party leader Madhuku, along with 17 of his party members, required medical treatment for injuries sustained on Sunday after masked men attacked a consultative meeting in Harare (...)
HRF condemns the brutal state-sponsored violence that injured Zimbabwean opposition leader Lovemore Madhuku and members of his party. The attack comes amid a violent campaign of suppression against those opposed to the extension of the rule of dictator Emmerson Mnangagwa.
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