Rights group leader says at least 80 political prisoners released in Venezuela

Jan 25 (Reuters) – At least 80 people considered political prisoners by a leading Venezuelan rights group had been released on Sunday as part of an ongoing release process, according to the leader of the group.

The people were released from prisons across the country and more releases were likely taking place, Alfredo Romero, the director of Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal, said on X.

Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez said on Friday that 626 people have been released from prison, yet she did not specify the timeline of the reported releases.

Foro Penal, however, before Sunday had confirmed the release of just 156 political prisoners in Venezuela since Jan 8.

Rodriguez said that she is due to have a call on Monday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, to ask the U.N. to verify the lists of those released so far in the Andean nation.

(Reporting by Reuters, Editing by Nick Zieminski)