Human rights probe ‘unprecedented’ repression in Venezuela

By Anjali Sharma

UNITED NATIONS – UN human rights probe on Tuesday alleged that the violence used against opponents of the Venezuelan authorities has reached unprecedented levels,  cited arrests, sexual abuse and torture as just some of the methods used by the Government of President Nicolas Maduro to stay in power.

The investigators in a new report described how security forces had raided dozens of homes of suspected critics of the Government “just using social media videos as the only evidence to arrest people”.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela stated that victims’ testimonies gathered either side of the disputed Presidential election on 28 July which returned Mr. Maduro to office for the third time pointed to “one of the most acute human rights crises in recent history”.

Marta Valiñas, Chair of the investigation, insisted that that its latest findings were “overwhelming: not only have there been no improvements, but the violations have intensified, reaching unprecedented levels of violence”.

The rights expert described “an intensification of the State’s repressive machinery” with regard to its critics which represented “a continuation of previous patterns” that the independent rights panel had already condemned as likely crimes against humanity.

Ms. Valiñas said that the probe had confirmed 25 fatalities after the re-election of Mr. Maduro whose victory announcement prompted widespread protests across Venezuela

She said that most of the victims were “young people under 30 years old from popular neighbourhoods. There are two children among them,” One of the deceased was a member of the Bolivarian National Guard, Ms. Valiñas noted, before adding that 24 “died from gunshot wounds [and] the other was beaten to death”.

The fact-finding mission’s latest report examines the human rights situation in Venezuela between September 2023 and August 2024.

It pointed to a further deterioration of the rule of law following the presidential elections, while public authorities “have abandoned all semblance of independence”, leaving citizens “helpless” against the “arbitrary exercise” of power.

Francisco Cox Vial, Member of the fact-finding mission that was created by the Human Rights Council in 2019 said “We documented more than 40 cases in which the security forces entered private homes without warrants, just using social media videos as the only evidence to arrest people who they thought had participated in protests or who had expressed criticism in social media.”

According to the independent investigators, over 120 people were arrested in July in the context of opposition campaign events.

The mission said that over 2,000 people were detained in the first week of protests after the elections based on figures released by the authorities.

Over 100 children, some with disabilities, who faced accusations of terrorism and incitement to hatred and serious violations of due process, the investigators added.

Patricia Tappatá Valdez, member of the fact-finding mission said “Of the people detained in this period, many were subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence which was perpetrated against women and girls, but also against men with reported electric shocks, beating with blunt objects, suffocation with plastic bags, immersion in cold water and forced sleep deprivation”.

“We had been able to verify that at least 143 of these arrests involved members of seven opposition parties, including 66 leaders of political movements,” she noted.

According to the rights probe, from December 2023 to March 2024, at least 48 people were detained on the grounds of “so-called conspiracy theories” against the Government, with arrest warrants issued for others. The individuals included military personnel, human rights defenders, journalists and political opposition representatives, the fact-finding mission said.

“We cannot ignore that these violations represent a clear and deliberate line of conduct by the authorities of politically motivated persecution,” said Mr. Cox Vial.

He concluded “We have come to the conclusion that many of these allegations constitute crimes against humanity.”

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