(Bloomberg) -- As many as 225 people who protested against Nicolás Maduro’s contested election victory were set to be freed from Venezuelan prisons this weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Dozens detainees, including women and teenagers, had been freed from multiple penal facilities as of Saturday morning, human rights groups said. Their releases included precautionary measures such as requirements to appear before a judge.
Public Prosecutor Tarek William Saab’s office announced on Friday that the cases of 225 detainees were to be reviewed. Saab didn’t reply to a request for comment sent by text message Saturday.
The releases began Friday night, said the person, requesting anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. All 225 detainees were expected to be freed, the person said, though the process is still underway and plans could change.
President Nicolás Maduro’s government was facing growing backlash after 36-year-old Jesús Martínez, an electoral witness and political activist, died in custody on Nov. 14. This weekend’s move could represent a potential olive branch from Maduro, whose post-election crackdown and refusal to show evidence of his victory had angered even his ideological allies in the region.
The regime rounded up around 2,500 people, including more than 100 teenagers, as part of a fierce crack down on protests against Maduro’s self-declared reelection to a third term on July 28. Twenty eight people died in the events surrounding the demonstrations.
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