Venezuela alleged that the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity during the government of Nicolás Maduro has a “clear political motivation”, when announcing this Monday that he formalized an appeal against the authorization to resume it.
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The decision “has a clear political motivation and is part of the ‘regime change’ strategy promoted by foreign powers against the country, based on a false accusation for crimes against humanity that have never occurred,” expressed a statement released by Foreign Minister Yván Gil.
The Venezuelan government announced in the document that it presented its grounds before the ICC Appeals Chamber, denouncing “errors of fact and law that violate Fundamental provisions of the Rome Statute and International Law”.
The ICC Preliminary Questions Chamber authorized on June 27 the office of prosecutor Karim Khan to resume investigations for alleged crimes against humanity, considering the judicial processes in the Caribbean country insufficient.
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#Release| Venezuela files an appeal against the ICC’s decision to continue a process without foundation, promoted by those who seek a “regime change”. We demand that legality and international law be resumed. pic.twitter.com/oWYDdDGJMU
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) August 14, 2023
That instance “dismissed without foundation most of the evidence presented by Venezuela in the investigation and punishment of crimes against human rights that occurred in the country,” Venezuela responded.. The Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office defends that the justice system actswith more than 450 convictions of military and police officers for violating human rights.
“National investigations generally seem to focus on direct and/or lower-ranking perpetrators,” the ICC said at the time, stressing that “there appear to be inexplicable periods of investigative inactivity.”
The ICC, based in The Hague, began its formal investigation in November 2021. The Venezuelan government assured that it “will continue to use all available actions under international law” against what it defined as an “offensive that openly uses the institutionality of the ICC for purposes contrary to its nature and raison d’être”
AFP
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