In a new one reportthe Human Rights Council– Authorised investigators have described how security forces raided dozens of homes of people suspected of criticising the Government “using only social media videos as the sole evidence to arrest people.”
Violence and threats
Testimonies from victims gathered on both sides of the disputed July 28 presidential election that returned Maduro to power for a third time indicate that “one of the most serious human rights crises in recent history“, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela continues to be maintained.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Marta Valiñas, chair of the investigation, stressed that their latest findings were “overwhelming: not only has there been no improvement, but Violations have increased, reaching unprecedented levels of violence.”.
The independent rights expert described the “intensification of the state’s repressive apparatus” against critics as “a continuation of previous patterns” that the independent rights panel has condemned as potentially amounting to crimes against humanity.
After Mr Maduro’s re-election – whose claim to victory sparked widespread protests across Venezuela – Ms Valiñas said the investigation had confirmed 25 deaths.
Horrifying discoveries
Most of the victims were “young people under 30 from crowded neighborhoods. There were two children among them,” she said. One of the dead was a member of the Bolivarian National Guard, Valiñas noted, before adding that 24 people “died of gunshot wounds.” [and] The other was beaten to death.
The latest report of the fact-finding mission examines the human rights situation in Venezuela from September 2023 to August 2024. The report points to a further deterioration of the rule of law following the presidential election, while public authorities “abandoned all forms of independence”, leaving the population “powerless” in the face of “arbitrary exercise of power”.
“We have documented more than 40 cases of security forces entering private homes without a warrant, using social media videos as the only evidence to arrest people they believe have participated in protests or expressed criticism on social media,” explained Francisco Cox Vial, a member of the fact-finding mission established by the Human Rights Council in 2019.
Children among those arrested
According to independent investigators, more than 120 people were arrested in July amid opposition campaign events. In the first week of post-election protests, according to government figures, more than 2,000 people were arrested.
Investigators added that among these individuals were more than 100 children, some with disabilities, accused of terrorism, inciting hatred and serious violations of due process.
“Among those detained during this time, Many people have been subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence against women and girls, but also against men. “The victims were reportedly electrocuted, beaten with blunt objects, suffocated with plastic bags, submerged in cold water and deprived of sleep,” said Patricia Tappatá Valdez, a member of the fact-finding team.
“We have 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 inquiry, between December 2023 and 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. These individuals included military personnel, human rights defenders, journalists and political opposition representatives, the inquiry mission said.
“We cannot ignore that these violations represent a clear and deliberate pattern of politically motivated repression by the government,” Cox Vial said. “We have concluded that many of these allegations constitute crimes against humanity.”
