A civilian in the Ramo Verde military prison by Nasbly Kalinina @nasbly

ANTONIO PÉREZ CISNEROS:

A civilian in the Ramo Verde military prison

by Nasbly Kalinina @nasbly

On the night of January 14, 2018, Antonio José Pérez Cisneros was hooded and kidnapped by officers of the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) while returning to Caracas from Barquisimeto. They took him to the DGCIM headquarters, where he was brutally beaten until he lost consciousness, according to legal documents.

He was accused of crimes that only apply to military personnel during wartime, such as treason, military rebellion, and theft of military effects, his lawyer said. He went to trial on December 19, 2018, after it had been delayed 17 times in 11 months. Since then he has remained in legal limbo despite the efforts of his advocates. The military court answers to no one even when they don’t have any proof of a “crime.”

Perez is a civilian, not a soldier, and Venezuela is not at war.  Therefore, he couldn’t possibly be guilty of the crime or crimes he was arrested for. He was arrested only because he has the same last name as a dissident who called for a national demonstration against the Maduro regime.  These two men are not related.  Perez is a very common surname in Venezuela.

On February 5th, 2020 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of The Organization of American States (OAS) granted him a Precautionary Measure (an action to prevent harm to someone) to protect his rights to life for his health conditions and medical complications.

Antonio was tortured. His fingernails were removed. His feet were beaten and are swollen and lacerated… He suffers aches from headaches, pain in the kidney area, blood, and pain when urinating, depression, and others as a result of the alleged aggression during his detention. Those problems are getting worse for the terrible conditions at the jail where there isn’t running water. These cruel practices are against Human Rights Laws that Venezuela had signed onto and forbidden in its own Constitution as well.

In two and a half years Antonio has not been able to see his only son. The child was taken out of the country because of the persecution of his family. The only thing that kept his strength was the memory of that loving gaze of the Divine Shepherdess (one of the names given to the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus), who he officially accepted as a mother when he was baptized on September 24, 2019. He prays every day for his freedom and that of his companions so that the hell in which they and their families find themselves can finally end. The physical experience and psychological wear and tear will be difficult to overcome, however.

Antonio is one of the 424 political prisoners on the tracking list of Foro Penal (Criminal Forum), the most recognized advocacy group for political prisoners under the Maduro government. It is updated every week and sent to Luis Almagro, the secretary of the Organization of American States, and certified as received on his Twitter account.

#ItsTimeForMercy #FreeAntonio #LetJusticeBeDone