Feb 6 (Reuters) - The head of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said on Friday that all prisoners expected to be granted clemency by a pending amnesty law could walk free within a week.
Rodriguez said in a video posted on his Telegram account that the government's amnesty law, which would grant clemency to people jailed for participating in political protests or critiquing public figures, is expected to receive final approval on Tuesday, and people would start being released that day.
"We hope that between next Tuesday and Friday, at the latest, they will all be free," said Rodriguez, who is the brother of Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
On Thursday, the amnesty bill passed unanimously in the first of two necessary votes at the National Assembly, which is controlled by the socialist ruling party.
The bill would lead to hundreds of people being released and would likely please the Trump administration, which has hailed prisoner releases.
Venezuela's opposition and human rights groups have said for years that the government has used detentions to stamp out dissent by politicians, members of the security services, journalists and activists, charging them arbitrarily with crimes like terrorism and treason.
Venezuela's government has always denied holding political prisoners and says those jailed have committed crimes.
"We will correct all the mistakes that have been made," Rodriguez said, while embracing family members of detained Venezuelans.
(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sarah Morland and Natalia Siniawski)
