As the hours pass it gets worse dramatically Rita Capriti’s situationthe 50-year-old Italian-Venezuelan arrested on August 2 in Venezuela for her political positions against the “Chavismo” in power. The most feared charge, terrorism, has been confirmed against her, who is also a radio journalist.her cousin, Maria Giovanna Sapone, told ANSA. “We cannot rest easy in the face of similar accusations, also because they are very far from the principles that we have always cultivated as a family,” the woman explains emotionally, also worried about Capriti’s health conditions, who is hypertensive and diabetic.
“The fact that she is being held in a room in the Caña de Azucar police station, in Maracay, does not reassure us at all. The police there do not joke. They constantly tell her that she will have an express trial, but they postpone it day after day,” adds Sapone, specifying that the defense of her cousin will be handled by lawyers from Primero Justicia, the opposition party of which Capriti has been regional vice president since 2022. In the meantime, the authorities have announced that it will take 40 days to formalize the charges. Capriti’s family, originally from Mirto, in the province of Messina, is living with apprehension as the news unfolds. They tried to hide them from her paternal grandmother, who is 87 years old, but in the end she suspected something and fell ill. The same happened to her brother, Tony. “We firmly reject the charges against her, especially without understanding whether the agents who took her away from home had a warrant,” reiterates Sapone, who, despite everything, says he has “full faith in the institutions and diplomacy.” “It’s not just for Rita, but for all the other political prisoners, for human rights and for freedom of expression,” he concludes.
The mayor of Capri Leone recalls that Rita and Tony’s father “emigrated from Mirto about forty years ago to look for work”: “I remember Rita when she was a young girl, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, assured me of his full solidarity, guaranteeing that the Italian government will take action with all the diplomatic resources available. Both the ministerial offices and the embassy and the consulate are in contact with the children and will provide constant updates”, concludes Bernadette Grasso.