About 2,000 protesters were detained after the disputed vote in July in which Maduro declared himself the winner.
Venezuela said another 177 imprisoned election demonstrators of the more than 2,000 people arrested in clashes following the disputed July 28 vote have been released.
According to Reuters news agency, Attorney General Tarek Saab’s announcement on Monday would bring the total number of released protesters to 910.
However, human rights organizations said they were unable to verify all those who claimed to have regained their freedom.
The groups say at least three protesters have died in custody since demonstrations swept the country following the national electoral gathering explained President Nicolas Maduro was the winner without providing the official figures.
Polls before the election had shown that Maduro was far behind the opposition leader Edmundo González He had a seemingly insurmountable lead before the election, and Maduro’s government still rejected demands from both the opposition and regional leaders to release data showing his victory.
Nevertheless, Venezuela’s Supreme Court later confirmed the victory. Opposition activists claimed that both the electoral council and the court were dominated by Maduro loyalists.
As Venezuelans took to the streets demanding election dates, at least 28 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in clashes with security forces, with hundreds more arrested.
According to the Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal, there were 1,877 political prisoners as of early December.
When the Citizen Security Service announced the release of 103 election demonstrators on December 12, it said that Maduro had ordered the government to review “all cases of violence and crimes committed during the election.”
Previously, the Attorney General’s Office said that “precautionary measures” had been granted on November 26, allowing the release of about 225 prisoners, but requiring them to appear in court every 30 days.
Last week, Venezuela’s attorney general said an additional 533 election protesters had been released.
ICC probe
The moves come months after International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he would “actively monitor” the post-election crackdown.
The ICC has an open probe to the country linked to violence following the disputed Constituent Assembly elections called by Maduro in 2017.
The publications also come just weeks before Maduro is due to be sworn in for a third term on January 10th. US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take office ten days later, which could lead to a change in policy towards Venezuela.
During his first term, Trump tightened sanctions but faced pressure to act more cautiously amid fears that reductions could push Caracas toward China.
For its part, the government of US President Joe Biden had eased some sanctions as Maduro promised to hold free and fair elections Put them back in place as the Venezuelan leader continued to crack down on the opposition ahead of the vote.
Since then, many opposition members have done so fled the country.
But as several U.S. citizens remain imprisoned in Venezuela, it was unclear whether the recent releases were aimed at building goodwill with the new U.S. administration.
