One of the eight Trinidadian Imams held by security forces in Venezuela on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government of President Nicholas Maduro is pleading with the T&T Government to intervene on the group’s behalf. In an interview with TV6 News yesterday, Imam Hamza Mohammed called on the Government to do more to secure their freedom, saying the conditions at the jail in which they are being held are deplorable.
“These people just come and lock up everybody. Up to now they have not found any evidence that we are terrorists. I am a respectable Imam in my community,” Mohammed said. The group of 22, which also included six women and eight children, were held at the Plaza Hotel, Sabana Grande, in downtown Caracas last week. Venezuelan authorities also confiscated US$102,000 in cash and 66 passports that were in the possession of one of the Imams.
The men appeared before an Anti-Terrorism Tribunal Court in Venezuela on Wednesday. The women and children were released and returned to T&T last Friday.