Emirlendris Benítez

Emirlendris Carolina Benítez Rosales (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan merchant who has been described as a political prisoner. In 2018, while pregnant, she was detained and accused of involvement in the attempt on the life of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. According to her family and human rights organisations, she has been subjected to torture during detention to the extent of suffering a miscarriage, and her pretrial detention has exceeded the three-year maximum established by Venezuelan law.

The non-governmental organisation Foro Penal has classified Benítez as a political prisoner, and in 2022 the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations (UN) called for her immediate release, having concluded that her detention is arbitrary.

Detention On 5 August 2018, Benítez was accompanying her husband Jolmer Escalona on a taxi service trip, along with their dog Azabache, when she was stopped at a police checkpoint in Portuguesa state. According to media reports, she was four months pregnant at the time. After she was asked for and provided documents, According to multiple reports, during the transfer, police officers threw Azabache out of the vehicle window, allegedly to "prevent the police vehicle from getting dirty".

On 1 February 2022, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations (UN) called for the immediate release of Benítez. The Working Group concluded that her detention had been arbitrary, that Benítez had been detained without an arrest warrant, that she had not been informed of the reasons for her detention and that she had been held incommunicado. The group also called on the Venezuelan government to "grant her the effective right to obtain compensation and other forms of reparation, in accordance with international law".

Personal life Benítez has two children. According to reports, her elder daughter lives outside the country, having emigrated before her mother's detention, while her younger son lives with his father, who has cared for him during her detention. The couple had a pet dog named Azabache; during her detention and transfer, police officers reportedly threw Azabache out of the vehicle window.