Army Killing Muslims in Kashmir? No, Image is From Venezuela

The image is from Venezuela when at least 46 were killed in a violent incident in Los Llanos Penitentiary Centre.

An image from Venezuela is being shared to claim that the Indian Army is killing Muslims in Kashmir.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image showing several people lying on the ground is being shared with a claim that the Indian Army is killing Muslims in Kashmir.

However, we found that the image is from Venezuela, when at least 46 people were killed on 1 May in a violent incident in Los Llanos Penitentiary Centre (CEPELLA) in Guanare, Portuguesa state.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

CLAIM

The claim shared along with the image reads: “How the Indian Army is killing our Muslim brothers and sisters are being tortured in Kashmir. Pray for our Muslims”

Several social media users have shared the image on Facebook and Twitter.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We did a Google reverse image search and found that a website called Mundo Oriental, based out of Venezuela, had published an article on 2 May. The article carried the viral image and mentioned that it is from an alleged riot that took place at the Los Llanos Penitentiary Center (Cepello), in Guanare, Portuguese state.

An article published in Mundo Oriental carried the viral image.(Source: Website/ Screenshot)

We found that an independent website venezuelanalysis had also published similar photos from the incident and credited it to an organisation called ‘La Patilla’.

We then searched on La Patilla’s website using keywords “Centro Penitenciario de Los Llanos” (Translated: Los Llanos Penitentiary Center) and found that the organisation had, indeed, published images from the incident on 1 May.

While the organisation did not publish the viral image, we found that it carried an image taken from a different angle as compared to the viral image.

Similar features can be seen in both the images, for instance, the positioning of the injured man at the bottom of the photo, where blood can be seen on his right leg.

Further, the colour pattern of clothes worn by the people in the centre of both the images is also the same.

Left: La Patilla image. Right: Viral image.(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN VENEZUELA?

Amnesty International published an article on 2 May, in response to reports mentioning that at least 46 prisoners were killed in a violent incident in Los Llanos Penitentiary Centre (CEPELLA) in Guanare, Portuguesa state, Venezuela.

“The authorities’ lethal response must be thoroughly investigated and analysed so that these international crimes do not go unpunished,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International had said.

The report mentioned that, as per the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a protest erupted in the prison due to the restrictions imposed on relatives bringing food for inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Evidently, an image from Venezuela is being shared to propagate the claim that it shows Indian Army killing Muslims in Kashmir.

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