Trini Muslim in Venezuelan jail collapses from hunger strike

He was taken to a hospital.

The men went on the hunger strike to get the attention of the Trinidadian and Venezuelan authorities to have them freed after the judge who heard their case has taken leave of it without handing down a decision.

The men had been detained in a Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional (SE BIN) jail - known as a jail for political dissidents - on suspicions of terrorist activities after being on a hunger strike to get the authorities to free them. The SE BIN jail is known for leaving prisoners “to rot in jail.” Newsday could not verify the name of the detained Trini who was taken to the hospital, but a source said things were “not looking good for him. He was really bad when he left.” At press time there had been no report about the detainee who was taken to the hospital.

Distraught relatives in TT told Newsday yesterday afternoon that the men made a pact not to tell any of them their status to spare them “pain and hurt.” According to reports out of Venezuela, the men have been going without food and water since September 20. It was reported the four other men are not also not in good shape.

and have so far, refused medical attention Newsday was told the men may also be taken to the hospital for observation where this newspaper may not be able to have reports about them. Newsday has been unable to get any information about the men from the TT embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.

In a prior interview, one of the detainees had told Newsday the embassy officials could not visit them in the jail, so they looked forward to meeting and talking with them at the hearings.

The men, Wade Charles, Dominic Petital, Asim Luqman, Andre Battersby and Leslie Daisley, took the protest action after the judge, Maria Eugenia Nunez, who heard their case, took leave of it without handing down a decision. Nunez has been cited for human rights violations by several international bodies including the United National Commission on Human Rights.

In May 2015, she banned 22 executives and representatives of news media from leaving Venezuela based on a lawsuit filed by the National Assembly president, for reproducing an article that linked him to drug trafficking.