The UN believes that Venezuelan security forces were “massively involved” in the human rights violations that occurred. Torture was used to force detainees to incriminate themselves.
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Venezuela published a report this Tuesday denouncing the crimes committed by the authorities during the July presidential elections in the country.
The report, which complements another recently published one, documents several violations and crimes, including against humanity, including the practice of torture that victims incriminate themselves for serious crimes such as terrorism.
“These violations include arbitrary detentions, torture, short-term forced disappearances and sexual violence, which are carried out as part of a coordinated plan to silence opponents or the alleged opponents. Among the victims are children and adolescents, as well as people with disabilities,” explains the Mission.
The 158-page document accuses security forces and armed civilian groups affiliated with the regime of committing “murders, forced disappearances, acts of torture and sexual and gender violence,” before, during and after elections marked by the persecution of opponents and repression of protests.
The Mission also accuses the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN, intelligence services), the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM, military intelligence services), the Bolivarian National Guard (military police) and the Bolivarian National Police of being “massively involved” in violations of the human rights of the population.
“Detainees are threatened, including through acts of torture, with incriminating themselves for serious crimes such as terrorism. The lack of evidence and lawyers of their choice put victims in a particularly vulnerable position, as self-incrimination can lead to disproportionately high prison sentences,” the report explains.
According to the document, “the situation of detained children and adolescents is particularly serious, since they face the same threats and do not benefit from the special protection measures required by international law.”
According to the Mission, 25 people were killed with firearms, hundreds were injured, and thousands were detained simply for exercising the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
In the report, the Mission reiterates its call to the Venezuelan State to release all people arbitrarily detained and respect the physical and psychological integrity of those detained, and the right to a fair trial.
Venezuela, a country with a significant community of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, held presidential elections on July 28, after which the National Electoral Council (CNE) attributed the victory to Nicolás Maduro with just over 51% of the votes, while the The opposition claims that its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, obtained almost 70% of the votes.
The Venezuelan opposition and several countries in the international community denounced electoral fraud and demanded that the voting records be presented for independent verification, which the CNE considers unfeasible due to a cyberattack of which it was supposedly subject.
The electoral results were disputed in the streets, with demonstrations repressed by the security forces, with a balance of more than two thousand arrests and more than two dozen deaths.
According to the NGO Fórum Penal (FP), Venezuela has 1,916 citizens detained for political reasons, of which 240 are women and 70 adolescents between 14 and 17 years old.
Source: Observadora
