[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"eJxLzSvJLKmMT81NSk3RT04sKMnMz9Mpy0wtL9YHk3qJWYkVKAK5-SmlOakAd1UWCw","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__312131__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"312131","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/312131","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__312131__en","pager_element":0}}},"csp":{"nonce":"6l707YWJxi_Y7X9Fxdv_Ew"},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"bc8921424f39d39c64af84232b603fadae46f840a8176c1b2436a5ee00791ac5"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_ttdgUoxkB-pbINT5dW1cMh3IgYOCVTjCJ6Cp-XWwa0k.css?delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=hrw_design\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNFLzEqs0EnNK8ksqYxPzU1KTdFPTiwoyczP0ynLTC0v1geTern5KaU5qQBrXRXg"}]},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_VAWKYxPX4vFoyXs0iEPUrnc99CjyNLIu_pZawjEz9i8.js?scope=footer\u0026delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=hrw_design\u0026include=eJwry0wtL9YvA5F6iVmJFQA22wZe"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"replaceWith","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__312131__en","data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__312131__en\u0022\u003E\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \u003Cdiv\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022blog-block__content__description rich-text pt-6 mb:pt-10 mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch4\u003EBoth Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn Have Questions to Answer\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left: auto;\u0022\u003EBy David Mepham\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003EEvents in Latin America rarely generate much political attention or debate in Britain. But new evidence of deepening repression in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/americas\/venezuela\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EVenezuela\u003C\/a\u003E should force Theresa May, the Conservative Prime Minister, and the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, to examine their different, but misguided policies towards Venezuela.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2017\/11\/29\/venezuela-systematic-abuses-opponents\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ENew research this week by Human Rights Watch\u003C\/a\u003E and a Venezuelan group, Penal Forum, lifts the lid on the crackdown perpetrated by the Maduro government against opponents.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003E\n\n\n \n\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed align-right embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-media embedded-entity-bundle-image embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable embed--right\u0022 xmlns:xlink=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\u0022\u003E\n \n\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \n \n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center info \u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/33996\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201705asia_laos_drugs.jpg?itok=ElLym2k1 480w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201705asia_laos_drugs.jpg?itok=DooHSLOh 946w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 width=\u0022946\u0022 height=\u0022631\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201705asia_laos_drugs.jpg?itok=DooHSLOh\u0022 alt=\u0022Venezuelan security forces use a water cannon to disperse an anti-government demonstration on the Francisco Fajardo Highway.\u0022\u003E\n\n\n\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewBox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=250315#sprite-expand\u0022 \/\u003E\n \u003C\/svg\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__caption\u0022\u003EVenezuelan security forces use a water cannon to disperse an anti-government demonstration on the Francisco Fajardo Highway, Caracas, May 18, 2017. \u00a9 2017 Giovanna Mascetti\n\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003EThe report contains detailed testimony of how Venezuelan security forces brutally beat detainees and tortured them with electric shocks, asphyxiation, and sexual assault. In some cases, security forces detonated teargas canisters in small cells where detainees were being held, and denied them food or water. Sometimes they were forced to eat food that was deliberately tainted with excrement, cigarette ash or insects.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003ESecurity forces and armed pro-government groups, called \u201ccolectivos\u201d in Venezuela, have caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. In many cases, they have shot water cannons, teargas, and pellets at close range, in ways apparently intended to inflict painful injuries.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003EAgainst this backdrop, it is hard to understand why\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-4762698\/Venezuela-gets-6million-foreign-aid-Britain.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethe May government is providing \u00a3160,000 to train some of the country\u2019s police and security services\u003C\/a\u003E. When this story first broke in August, the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/europe\/central-asia\/united-kingdom\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EUK\u003C\/a\u003E Foreign Office said the policy was, \u201ckept under review.\u201d But in a context of rapidly worsening repression in Venezuela, it is surely untenable for the British government to provide this kind of support while at the same time failing to speak out forcefully against rights violations and torture. The UK should be stepping up pressure on Maduro\u2019s government, including through targeted sanctions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003EJeremy Corbyn\u2019s recent positions on Venezuela have also been pusillanimous and wrong. In a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=24\u0026amp;v=7v7LHgxvCnY\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESeptember 30 media interview\u003C\/a\u003E, Corbyn repeatedly refused to condemn the repressive policies of Maduro. This suggests his longstanding support for an avowedly anti-capitalist government in Caracas is blinding him to the reality of stepped-up and systematic repression there.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003EWhile this is not the first crackdown on dissent under Maduro, the scope and severity of this repression has reached levels unseen in Venezuela in recent memory. May\u2019s weakness and complacency and Corbyn\u2019s faux solidarity are equally misplaced and should both be jettisoned.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed\u0022 data-type=\u0022image\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null},{"command":"insert","method":"prepend","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__312131__en","data":"","settings":null}]