Ana Leonor Acosta and Kelvi Zambrano, lawyers part of the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy and defenders of lieutenant commander Carlos Macsotay, denounced under the framework of the conversations entitled “Talking about Human Rights”, that the constitutional chamber denied the request for “amparo” (court protection) in favor of the officer, once again violating international treaties that have constitutional status.
Next May 17th, several soldiers from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces will have been “deprived of their liberty” (euphemism for prisoner, detained) now for 5 years without a sentence. These were subjected to forced disappearance and accused of being part of the so-called “Operation Armageddon”, an alleged military action that sought to destabilize the public powers.
Ana Leonor Acosta, Director of the Coalition and lawyer for the military, repudiated the decision, as she pointed out that Venezuelan political prisoners live a legal, psychological and family nightmare.
“Carlos Macsotay was arrested 5 years ago, along with other soldiers, without a court order, brought to trial without evidence and they have also been victims of torture after a forced disappearance. Although the defense in trial has been impeccable, up to now justice has not been obtained,” Acosta pointed out.
The human rights defender stressed that these people have experienced an ordeal and that the requests from both, the defense and the defendants themselves, have not been heard by the Venezuelan justice system.
“There is no prosecutor who acts independently, there is no court that does its job and we have come to request this protection for the freedom and personal safety of the lieutenant commander without justice,” she stressed.
She recalled that in this case, which involves a group of soldiers in the supposed “Operation Armageddon”, both the UN working group and the High Commissioner for Human Rights during his visit to Venezuela, pointed out that this was an arbitrary detention.
“This opinion of the working group on arbitrary detentions confirms that detentions must have a limit and these people have already been retained 5 years without due process or access to justice. In addition, it has been shown that there are no elements to prosecute him, that his human rights and the possibility of a fair and impartial trial are being violated,” she said.
Ana Leonor Acosta pointed out that the prisoners suffer consequences of the torture they withstood when they were disappeared, they need timely medical attention, and this has also been denied to them.
For his part, lawyer Kelvi Zambrano pointed out that the request for “amparo” (protection) made by the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy was made on the sidelines of the judicial process followed by military criminal courts.
“In this amparo action, we are asking the constitutional court to rule on the case, since the lieutenant commander is the victim of an arbitrary detention and we have based this on the basis of two criteria,” reported the criminal law specialist. .
Zambrano reiterated that the working group considered that Captain Macsotay had been arbitrarily deprived of his liberty and that the court before which he was being tried did not enjoy autonomy and independence.
“The Inter-American Court and other organizations have already ruled on the provisional nature, of the judges who do not enjoy autonomy and independence and who do not issue decisions that assure that the person tried can enjoy due process and, in addition, the National Executive interferes in these decisions,” he stated.
He pointed out that the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy sustained the request for protection based on the opinion of the working group and the lack of autonomy and independence in the justice system of our country.
“We are exercising the “amparo” against the president of the judicial circuit, since we have argued that military judges should consult their decisions, because then they do not enjoy autonomy and it is their superiors who tell them what to do,” Zambrano said.
The lawyers of this NGO warned that the situation of civilian and military prisoners is becoming more delicate. They pointed out that their health is deteriorating, they are being tortured and the State ignores the opinions of international bodies and international principles on human rights.
The amparo was presented in March of last year in favor of Macsotay and Lieutenants Antonio Escola and Gustavo Carrero, and so far the court has only ruled on the case of the lieutenant commander.
Press release