Venezuela releases judge, journalist, 20 students - U.N.

Twenty-two people released by Venezuela's government on Thursday include the emblematic cases of judge Maria Afiuni and journalist Braulio Jatar, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Friday. Bachelet gave their two names in remarks to journalists after the U.N. Human Rights Council held a debate on her report of a visit to Venezuela in June.

The other 20 are students, a spokeswoman told Reuters. Afiuni, detained in 2009 after former President Hugo Chavez demanded she be imprisoned, has been under house arrest since 2011. A court issued a five-year jail sentence in March.