Venezuelan law enforcement officials have engaged in the torture and other ill-treatment of dozens of protestors over recent months, Amnesty International will tell the United Nations Committee Against Torture later today.
Amnesty International and other NGOs will present evidence before the Committee Against Torture (CAT) in Geneva. In a joint public statement the organizations have documented cases of authorities enacting torture and ill-treatment, with examples stretching back over the past decade.
“This is a serious wake-up call for Venezuela. The evidence Amnesty International and other organisations have gathered paints a grim picture of the violence and abuse meted out to protestors in recent months, but also reveals a serious problem that has been going on for years,” said Nuria Garcia, Venezuela Researcher, Amnesty International.
This is the first time in 10 years that the country has come before the United Nations Committee.
“We are calling on the government to pay close attention to the evidence laid out before it. Over the past decade various state security bodies have repeatedly committed torture and other ill-treatment. In the majority of cases the perpetrators are never brought to justice nor do the victims get access to reparations or rehabilitation.”
See the full public statement here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR53/024/2014/en
Amnesty International’s submission to the CAT: https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR53/020/2014/en