Human rights defenders were threatened and politically motivated charges continued
to be used against government critics. Accountability mechanisms to ensure justice
or to act as an effective deterrent against police abuses remained weak. There were
serious episodes of violence in the grossly overcrowded prison system leading to a
number of deaths.
Criminal and police violence remained a serious problem in Venezuela’s cities. In
May, the government created the Presidential Commission for the Control of Arms,
Munitions and Disarmament to tackle the proliferation of small arms fuelling the violence.
In November President Chávez ordered National Guard troops onto the streets to tackle
widespread violent crime.
There were ongoing social protests. The Venezuelan Social Conflict Observatory registered
497 protests in September alone on a range of issues including labour rights and public
security.
In October, Venezuela’s human rights record was assessed under the UN’s Universal
Periodic Review. States raised concerns about a number of issues including the independence
of the judiciary, threats to and harassment of human rights defenders, prison conditions,
freedom of expression and impunity.
In October, the Supreme Court breached legally binding international obligations by
disregarding a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that the ban be
lifted on opposition politician Leopoldo López running for office.
Human rights defenders were threatened and subjected to unfounded accusations by government
officials and the state media. Human rights organizations were concerned that the
lack of definition of “political rights” in the Law for the Defence of Political Sovereignty
and National Self Determination, passed by the National Assembly in December 2010,
could impede their work. The Law bans organizations considered to work for the defence
of political rights from receiving international funding.
In June, Humberto Prado Sifontes, Director of the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons,
was subjected to a campaign of intimidation and death threats after he called on the
government to peacefully address a riot at El Rodeo Prison. Following accusations
by government ministers and official media against him, a blog published his contact
details with a note that said: “Family information to come soon… so that the people
can try him. Capital punishment.” His wife received an anonymous call stating that
he “would be the next one to fall”.
There were continuing reports of human rights violations by the police, including
unlawful killings and torture. Most of these abuses were not properly investigated
and little, if any, judicial action was taken.
In May, Juan José Barrios was assassinated by two hooded men in Guanayén, Aragua state.
He was the seventh member of the Barrios family to be killed in circumstances that
suggested members of the Aragua State Police were involved. In January, Néstor Caudi
Barrios, who had witnessed the extrajudicial execution of Narciso Barrios in 2003,
was left with permanent injuries after being shot by two men on motorbikes. No progress
had been reported in the investigations into these attacks by the end of the year.
In January, Daniel Antonio Núñez and his 16-year-old daughter Francis Daniela Núñez
Martínez were beaten and threatened by police officers from the Caracas Investigative
Police in an apparent attempt to intimidate them into testifying as witnesses to a
shooting near their home.
In February, the former wife and young daughters of police officer Jonny Montoya received
death threats. Jonny Montoya had complained about rising corruption under the former
Chief Superintendent of the Municipal Police of Caracas.
Politically motivated charges continued to be used against government critics.
In February Rubén González, Secretary General of the Orinoco Iron Miners’ Union, was
convicted of crimes including incitement and conspiracy for organizing a strike in
2009 and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. Three days later, the Supreme
Court ordered his conditional release.
In July, Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, member of an opposition party and a former governor
of Zulia state, was convicted by a criminal court in Caracas of disseminating “false
information” following his criticism of the government which was broadcast on Globovisión
in March 2010. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment; the judge subsequently
allowed him to serve his sentence on conditional release.
There were continuing concerns about the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
In February, Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, arbitrarily detained in December 2009 after
granting conditional release to banker Eligio Cedeño, was put under house arrest.
She had been held in prison for more than a year where she was threatened and denied
adequate medical attention. Judge Afiuni refused to enter the court house in protest
against violations of due process. Her house arrest was extended by two more years
in December.
Violence remained endemic in the chronically overcrowded prisons. In June, clashes
between rival gangs in El Rodeo prison led to the deaths of some 27 prisoners.
In July, the Minister of Prison Services announced plans to release 40 per cent of
the prison population to ease overcrowding. In November, she publicly threatened to
dismiss judges who blocked her plans to speed up the trials of prisoners charged with
minor offences. The Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons reported that in 2010 only a
quarter of the prison population had been sentenced; the rest were on trial, awaiting
a preliminary hearing or under investigation.
There were further restrictions on freedom of expression. In October, the National
Telecommunications Commission, the state media regulator, imposed a large fine on
Globovisión for violating the Law on Social Accountability in Radio, Television and
Electronic Media. The television station was accused of “justifying crime” and promoting
“hatred for political reasons” for its coverage of the prison riot at El Rodeo. Globovisión,
whose journalists have previously been threatened and attacked and which faced other
administrative investigations, appealed against this latest action in November. The
appeal was pending at the end of the year.
Leocenis García, editor of the weekly publication Sexto Poder, was arrested in August on charges of insulting public officials and offences based
on gender in connection with the publication in August of a satirical article containing
a photomontage of senior female government officials. He was conditionally released
in November.
Violence against women remained pervasive. In spite of measures taken in recent years,
the authorities had yet to issue an action plan to address violence against women
or regulations on implementing the 2007 Organic law on the right of women to a life
free of violence.
