Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that his office submitted on April 30 a third report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s Office on the Venezuelan State’s actions in defense of human rights.
At the headquarters of his office in Caracas, Saab said “it is important to express the thorough work carried out by the institution because it has not been made visible.”
The figures released by Venezuela’s attorney general include 716 state security officers prosecuted for alleged violations of human rights and 40 civilians prosecuted for alleged connivance.
“540 officers from different agencies and 31 civilians involved were apprehended. Also, charges have been pressed against 1,064 officers and 136 civilians. So far, 153 sentences have been imposed on agents for violation of human rights,” said Saab.
In an official statement, Saab highlighted that “we have not been reciprocated in terms of the formal, institutional cooperation we conveyed on November 4, 2020, at a personal meeting with the ICC Prosecutor.”
Therefore, Attorney General Saab explained that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela “is obliged to request the ICC an assessment on the concrete commitments the country has already fulfilled and that we are expanding with this new report.”
Likewise, Saab recalled the ICC shall be complementary to the national criminal jurisdictions of the state parties to the Rome Statute. “The Court acts when cases that may fall within its jurisdiction have not been investigated by the justice system of a state party.”
Emblematic Cases
Venezuela’s attorney general also referred to cases of human rights violations that have drawn the attention of the country’s public opinion and the international community. Regarding the death of councilman Fernando Alban, Saab explained that “first, the officers were charged with breach of custody rules.”
The Attorney General’s office requested an annulment after “observing violations to constitutional guarantees, so the case was taken back to the investigation phase. Later, the officers implicated were charged with manslaughter, breach of custody rules, ganging up and aiding escape of prisoner.”
Regarding the case of Captain Acosta Arévalo, following the Supreme Court of Justice’s order to conduct a new investigation on the events, on October 22, 2020, a new arraignment hearing was held against the implicated officers, who were accused of aggravated intentional homicide committed with premeditation and torture. In November 2020, the corresponding charges were filed.
Regarding the death of Juan Pablo Pernalete in 2017 in Altamira, Caracas, the attorney general recalled that he died after “being hit with a tear gas canister on the chest. Therefore, 12 officers were charged with complicity in unintentional manslaughter.”
Furthermore, Saab mentioned the extrajudicial execution of five people in “El Limón” locality, La Guaira state. He pointed out five officers were accused and charged with aggravated murder for futile and ignoble reasons, improper use of service weapon and simulation of a criminal act.
Likewise, Saab recalled the death of two workers from Guacamaya TV in Zulia state, where four police agents were charged with premeditated murder, unlawful entry by public official, simulation of a criminal act, and connivance, among other charges.
Regarding this case, “a former public attorney was accused of cover-up and criminal association.”
Measures
As part of the actions taken by the Venezuelan State, the attorney general said “the restructuring of the Bolivarian National Police has been published in the Official Gazette as part of the commitments taken on by the Venezuelan State (…) The restructuring will take six months.”
“In the time we’ve been in charge of the Public Ministry, it has become clear that our commitment is to investigate violations of human rights committed or that may have been committed by a state official,” said Saab. Finally, the Venezuelan attorney general explained that “after submitting this report, we expect due reception and considerations.” He announced that they will submit further reports on the progress made by the public Ministry and the Venezuelan State.