According to an NGO, the young man famous for playing the violin in protests against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was banned from participating in new demonstrations, after being released on Tuesday night after spending 19 days in prison.
Wuilly Arteaga, 23, is due to appear every eight days in court, which imposed a “ban on participating in demonstrations,” according to Alfredo Romero, coordinator of the human rights NGO Criminal Forum.
I cannot be free because my country is NOT free and because political prisoners are not free either. This ‘freedom’ suffocates,”
twitted the musician.
Arteaga had been arrested on July 27th and charged for “public instigation and possession of an incendiary substance” in Caracas.
Five days earlier he had been wounded in the face by pellets which, he said, were fired by the National Guard.
Romero denied that the violinist had any incendiary devices and reported that he was forced to accept a public defender, even though the Criminal Forum offered to represent him. The lawyer reported that the young man was “beaten and tortured.”
Arteaga became an icon of the opposition mobilizations in Venezuela, assuring that with his violin he wanted to give a message of peace among the violent riots.
More than 5,000 people have been arrested in protests in the past four months, according to the Criminal Forum. Thousands are still in prison.