The attorney general of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, began on Friday (29) a visit to Venezuela, where his office opened a preliminary examination in 2018, for alleged crimes against humanity committed by forces of the Chavez dictatorship. The prosecutor must decide whether to initiate an investigation into these crimes.
On the eve of the visit, the regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro sought to improve its image, with reforms in human rights laws and “making up” the situation of a military prison, in an attempt to avoid following the process in the court in The Hague.
Khan’s tour of South America began in Colombia, where the prosecutor announced, alongside President Iván Duque on Thursday, the closing of a case opened in 2004 on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the armed conflict in South American country, which involved the Colombian army, the extinct FARC guerrillas and paramilitary groups.
Until Wednesday (4), the prosecutor will have meetings with authorities, the judiciary, diplomats, representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations in Venezuela. Victims and family members also expect to be heard. During his visit, Khan must assess whether the Venezuelan state is willing to cooperate with the investigations and whether its justice system is capable of prosecuting the crimes.
Maduro tries to “make up” the situation in the country
Ever since news of a possible visit by the ICC prosecutor began to circulate, Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship has been trying to improve its image, freeing some political prisoners, carrying out judicial reforms and trying to improve the appearance of a military prison.
Venezuela currently has 254 political prisoners, according to the most recent report by the NGO Foro Penal. Last week, two activists from the NGO Fundaredes, accused of “treason to the motherland”, were released. However, the director of the NGO, Javie Tarrazona, remains in detention.
Chavismo rushed to carry out actions to “make up” the situation of a prison for military personnel in the state of Miranda, according to a report by the Infobae.
Several inmates were removed from the Ramo Verde prison, which is just a few kilometers from the capital Caracas, and those who remained were given shoes and razors, to make themselves “presentable”.
According to Infobae, which heard from relatives of the military detained in the prison, the prisoners were surprised by the arrival of paints, brushes and other tools to give the place a very different appearance than what has been seen for years. In addition, the most “problematic” prisoners were transferred to other penitentiaries.
Before the visit, Instituto Casla sent the prosecutor an extensive letter detailing the 10 detention and torture centers he was supposed to visit to prove the crimes of the Chavez dictatorship.
The National Assembly, with a majority Chavez, approved on Thursday two laws on human rights in Venezuela. The plenary approved the reform of the “Law for the Respect of Human Rights in the Exercise of Public Service” and approved in the first discussion the “Law for the Comprehensive Care and Reparation of Victims of Human Rights”, which provides for a fund for reparation for victims.
What are the charges against the Maduro regime
Last August, the ICC Attorney General’s Office made public the document stating that the alleged crimes against humanity of the Chavez regime should be investigated.
Accusations of excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial executions, torture, sexual violence and harassment are related to cases that occurred during popular protests in 2017. The regime’s crackdown on opposition protests left at least 125 dead between April and July of that year. .
“The prosecutor concluded that the available information provides a reasonable basis for believing that, since at least April 2017, civil authorities, members of the armed forces and pro-government individuals have committed crimes against humanity of imprisonment or other severe deprivations of physical liberty in violation of fundamental norms of international law”, reports the report written in June about the preliminary examination which Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor of the Court until last June, left to his successor, Karim Khan.
Among the crimes committed by the forces of the Maduro dictatorship, the report cites cases of torture, sexual violence and persecution for political reasons.
The report cites the National Bolivarian Police (PNB) as responsible for these alleged crimes; the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin); the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM); the Special Action Forces (Faes); the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC); the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB); the National Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Command (Conas); and other units of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).
With the report, Bensouda left in the hands of his successor the decision to define whether there are sufficient reasons to move Venezuela’s case to the next stage, an investigation, which could involve Maduro, some of his ministers and members of the security forces.
The regime denies all charges.
The request for an investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the Maduro regime was sent to the court in The Hague in 2018 by six countries: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Canada. In May of this year, Argentina, under the government of Alberto Fernández, withdrew its support for the case against Venezuela in the ICC, as the country left the Lima Group (made up of countries in America seeking a way out of the crisis of Venezuela).
The International Criminal Court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, is a “last instance” court for prosecuting crimes of genocide, war and crimes against humanity. The court investigates individuals accused of these crimes (and not states). After the preliminary examination and investigation stage, the cases evaluated by the ICC go through the pre-trial and, finally, judgment phases. Subsequently, the appeals and the execution of the sentences decided by the judges take place.
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