International Criminal Court to investigate Venezuela for crimes against humanity

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) will open an investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela, led by the Nicolás Maduro dictatorship, said on Wednesday (3) the chief prosecutor, the British Karim Khan, after visiting the country .

The court’s decision is the result of a preliminary examination that began three years ago, when leaders of six countries asked that the Venezuelan regime be investigated for crimes against humanity committed since 2014. It was the first time that nations brought the ICC against another country. signatory to the Rome Statute.

The announcement of the investigation was also shared by the country’s regime through a memorandum signed by Maduro and Khan. The document points out that “there are differences of opinion on the matter” and that Venezuela “considers that the allegations should be investigated in the country by national institutions”. Another excerpt also says that Caracas does not see sufficient requirements for the complaint to go from the preliminary examination phase to an investigation by the ICC.

When a case is brought before the court, some of the prerequisites for it to become an investigation are: there is evidence that a crime within the jurisdiction of the court has been committed (war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide); the fact is serious; the investigation meets the interests of Justice and the investigated State is not prosecuting the alleged crimes in national territory.

The court found that, in the Venezuelan case, all topics meet the necessary standards for opening an investigation. “The preliminary examination that opened in 2018 is nothing more than a filtering stage as we move into this new stage,” said Khan, who is a lawyer, during an event broadcast by Venezuelan state channels.

A report by the United Nations Human Rights Council released in September 2020 pointed out that crimes such as murder, systematic use of torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention are committed in the country with the knowledge or even support of high-ranking figures in Maduro, including the dictator himself.

On Maduro’s official Twitter page, a message said that Venezuela respects the decision to advance to the investigation phase “in search of the truth” and that it “is willing to guarantee justice with institutions open to improvements, improvements and advances”.

The court had been signaling the objective of initiating an investigation. The annual report of the court’s activities published in December 2020 said that, according to available information, “there is a reasonable basis for believing that, at least as of April 2017, civilians, authorities, members of the armed forces and government supporters [da Venezuela] committed crimes against humanity”.

According to the document, the evidence base dealt mainly with violations committed in prisons, such as torture, sexual violence and harassment of political dissidents. The report also said that groups such as the Bolivarian National Police, the Intelligence Service, the National Guard and the Counterespionage Service were among those who committed violence, as well as “pro-government individuals”.

International complaints grew especially after the wave of protests in opposition to the government that took to the streets of the country in 2018, with agendas that ranged from social demands, such as lack of food and medical supplies, to the departure of Maduro. Monitoring by social organizations indicate that around 6,000 demonstrations across the country were organized that year alone.

The ICC also denied, in a decision published in July, Caracas’ request to try internally the alleged crimes assessed by the court. In the decision, the then chief prosecutor, Gambian Fatou Bensouda, stated that the preliminary examination showed that the Venezuelan authorities “are not willing to investigate and/or prosecute these cases”.

“Internal procedures were initiated and decisions were taken to protect those who should be held criminally responsible or else prosecutions were not conducted independently and impartially,” said the lawyer.

Human Rights Watch celebrated the ICC decision. The director of the NGO for the Americas, José Miguel Vivanco, said the opening of the investigation “should be a powerful warning not only to those who comment on abuses or cover them up, but also to military and civilian leaders who knew or should have known what was going on. happening and did not act”.

According to the organization, this is the first time that a country in Latin America has been investigated by the ICC for crimes against humanity. Several NGO reports bring together allegations of abuses committed by the Caracas regime. The latest, in April, shows that civilians have been tortured and killed in an area close to the Colombian border.

The main opponent of the Maduro regime, Juan Guaidó, said the opening of the investigation is an important step towards obtaining the justice that has been denied to victims of violence and their families.

During his visit to the country, prosecutor Karim Khan had three meetings with Maduro. Relatives of people detained or allegedly killed by the regime staged several protests demanding a meeting with the prosecutor, a request that was not granted. The British also did not meet with Guaidó or other opposition leaders.

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