Protesters beaten, abused in Venezuela

BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuelan state security forces systematically abused opposition protesters detained during months of political unrest earlier this year, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

Some of the more than 5,000 people detained were beaten, sexually assaulted or given electrical shocks in what the New York-based rights group described in a report as a level of repression “unseen in Venezuela in recent memory.”

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets in April after the government-stacked Supreme Court issued a ruling that stripped the opposition-controlled congress of its last powers. Although the court quickly reversed course under a barrage of international criticism, near-daily protests swelled into a general airing of grievances against President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government over Venezuela’s high crime, sky-high inflation and shortages of food and medicine.

At least 120 people died during the unrest. Protests have died out in recent months since the election of a pro-government constitutional assembly now ruling with virtually unlimited powers.

Echoing earlier findings by the United Nations, the report is the most extensive look to date at allegations of abuse and torture of detainees that circulated during the anti-government unrest.