Detention of Juan Requesens

[6] Requesens' detention has been condemned by the National Assembly – as well as international diplomats, politicians and organizations – and large protests have been held in Venezuela demanding that he be freed.

[18][19][20] The BBC reported on harsher accusations, saying that "some government critics" believed the attack was a farce, with Julio Borges in particular arguing that this was done in order to arbitrarily arrest opposition politicians.

[21] The BBC reported on a tweet showing the closed circuit camera "footage of the two siblings getting out of the lift before being apparently pushed back by armed masked men in uniform".

[34] Fernández confirmed to the blog Crímenes sin castigo that one of the videos was recorded "in an isolation cell or in the office of Carlos Calderón", a SEBIN head.

Tarek William Saab, de facto Prosecutor General of Venezuela, denied this, saying that the video was a recording of Requesens during a forensic examination performed when he was in prison and that it should not have been released.

[14] Voice of America reported that a clinical analysis concluded there was evidence of "alteration of cognitive conditions that could be associated with the use of drugs that affect consciousness or will, uncoordinated movements, pupillary dilation, as well as loss of autonomic functions such as sphincters".

[38] The Bar Association of Venezuela [es] released a statement saying they had "numerous and very grave objections" to what La Patilla called an "arbitrary and illegal" arrest and an attempt to "stigmatize" the accused.

[39] Diego Scharifker, a friend of Requesens and a former city council member and student leader from Caracas, called the public airing of the videos "part of a macabre show meant to intimidate the political opposition".

[58] On 20 December, the next trial day was set as 8 January 2020; his lawyer explained that the defense had not been allowed to speak, and said that "the judge simply follows instructions to keep Requesens deprived of his freedom".

[65] Rafaela said that the family had still not seen her brother as of 30 August, and that SEBIN were not allowing them to give him his diet;[66] their mother took his food to the prison every day, but it was only accepted by guards when the media was watching.

[68] The Venezuelan government gave a presentation on 4 October 2018 at the 169th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), and used previously unseen, professionally shot photographs of Juan Requesens to claim that they are benevolent to prisoners.

[69] This caused scorn and controversy, not only because of the dubious legality of Requesens' imprisonment, but also because of the curated image of his incarceration being presented when compared to the videos released prior.

[69] His parents were allowed to enter the prison to see Juan on 9 October, the day after the death of Fernando Albán – a fellow Justice First politician supposedly arrested for the same crimes and who was allegedly tortured and murdered.

[71] Requesens was transferred to a military hospital to see a dentist on 30 October 2018,[72] after days of the public campaigning to raise awareness about a molar infection he had, with politicians saying that it was inhumane to not let him be treated.

[73] Concern was that the infection had compromised facial tissue,[74] and people had only been alerted on 26 October when Requesens' parents visited and he told them himself that he had jaw aches which were being ignored.

[78][79] The Venezuelan National Assembly Vice President Julio César Reyes [es] invoked the Constitution of Venezuela, which says that "only the Supreme Court of Justice has the authority to order a deputy's arrest, with congressional approval",[79] in Article 200, which states that a prior decision to arrest a lawmaker must be made by the National Assembly and then approved by the Supreme Court in order to be legal.

[89] On 22 August, the National Assembly demanded that Maduro at least "allow a commission of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to enter the country and verify the situation of Requesens".

[60] Deputy and lawyer Armando Armas [es] asked that Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner of Human Rights to the UN, urgently make a pronouncement on the case of Requesens.

Maduro tweeted to the Foreign Minister of Chile, Roberto Ampuero that Requesens is a "self-confessed terrorist and assassin" and that "in Venezuela justice will act to protect the people, democracy, and to avoid a tragedy", saying the Chilean judicial and political systems supported such threats in their own country and others.

[98] In 2016, the Minister for Prison Services [es], Iris Varela, had been assigned to "restructure" politics in the state of Táchira, which Requesens represented, shortly after he was elected to the position.

[113] Francisco Palmieri, a US diplomat for Latin American affairs, called the arrest the "latest example in a long litany of human right abuses".

[118] Roberto Ampuero, Foreign Minister of Chile, stated that "the persecution of representatives Requesens and Borges is unacceptable, as is that of every citizen that freely chooses to oppose a dictatorial and cruel regime".

[121] Beatriz Becerra, Vice President of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, described Requesens' situation as him being "kidnapped, tortured, humiliated" and denounced that this had happened to him in particular because he had only shortly before been awarded the Sakharov Prize.

[122] The Lima Group and its nations condemned and rejected the arrest of Requesens, calling it a "violation of due criminal process" and denouncing how it was performed irregularly and illegally by both international and Venezuelan standards.

Without directly criticizing the Venezuelan government and its responsible security forces, they also expressed "deep concern" for the state of these bodies, suggesting a breakdown of democracy.

This family isn't giving up the fight for Venezuela, my niece and nephew and all the children of this country deserve a future complete with freedom, justice, security, and peace.

#YoMeNiegoARendirme for them, for my brother @JuanRequesens, for VENEZUELA Requesens gave a speech before the National Assembly the day before he was arrested, using the phrase Yo me niego a rendirme ("I refuse to give up" in Spanish).

A compilation video was shared by Requesens' family and publicity team, showing supporters across the world, including countries of Latin America, the US, UK, and Spain, holding smaller signs with the slogan.

[125] The part of the speech from which the slogan was taken has been distributed as an audio file, and played at meetings of opposition political groups and as a rallying call for students and protestors.

His sister and Henrique Capriles confirmed the release via posts on social media, including a video of Requesens with family and friends at an apartment block.