According to a government statement, Caracas officially notified the Appeals Chamber of the Court in The Hague that the country will appeal the reopening of the investigation file and that in the coming weeks, “it will record the elements that support its appeal.”
He also indicated that he will continue to use all available actions under International Law to “defend the truth and ensure their rights as a nation,” since Maduro and his allies attribute the investigation to an alleged “regime change” strategy promoted by Washington.
For the Venezuelan government, the process is an offensive that “openly uses the institutional framework of the International Criminal Court, for political purposes” and that, according to its reproach, would be evidenced by the flaws present in the decision.
The ICC supported its decision by verifying that Venezuela’s investigation into what happened in the anti-government protests has been insufficient.
The trials and sentences for the deaths during the 2017 protests have so far fallen on the perpetrators of some of these crimes, most of them agents of the security forces, but until now no responsibilities have been established in the chain of command.
The court had suspended an investigation into alleged wrongdoing, including the use of excessive force and torture — the first of its kind in Latin America — after Venezuela asked to take over the case in April last year.
Seven months later, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan called for his investigation to be reopened, arguing that Venezuelan efforts to deliver justice “remain insufficient in scope or have not yet had any concrete impact on potentially relevant proceedings.”
ICC Pre-Trial Chamber judges said the Venezuelan investigations appeared to be focused on direct and low-level perpetrators. The ICC seeks to prosecute senior commanders held responsible for crimes.
The Court upheld the request, noting that Venezuela’s actions “do not sufficiently reflect the scope” of the planned investigation, even though they generally focus on low-level perpetrators.
The case was brought to the Court in The Hague in 2018 by the member states Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru, who requested an investigation into alleged crimes in Venezuela since the beginning of 2014, a year after Maduro took office. post.
Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, conducted a preliminary investigation and in 2020 said she found a reasonable basis to conclude that crimes against humanity had been committed in Venezuela, since at least April 2017. Bensouda’s investigation focused mainly on allegations of excessive force, arbitrary detention and torture by security forces during the crackdown on anti-government protests in 2017.
The ICC is a court of last resort that investigates alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious crimes when nations are unable or unwilling to do so.
FUENTE: Associated Press
