April 20 (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government said on Monday that 51 people have been granted "alternative" detention measures to prison after it requested the change as part of efforts to implement an amnesty law passed earlier this year.
The government said in a statement it had requested "the granting of alternative measures to deprivation of liberty for a group of individuals who were being held in detention, for their alleged or proven involvement in the commission of crimes provided for under the Venezuelan legal framework" and that the petition had been successful and was granted last week.
Venezuela's opposition and human rights groups have said for years that the government uses detentions to stamp out dissent.
(Reporting by Reuters)
