Democracy 'barely alive' in Venezuela, UN rights chief says

Venezuelan democracy'barely alive if still alive: UN rights chief
Human rights violations and abuses in the context of protests in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from 1 April to 31 July 2017
Author

01 September, 2017

“It must be barely alive, if still alive, is the way I would look at it.”.

The United States has condemned the Venezuelan regime's decision to prosecute political opponents for alleged "treason to the homeland" - specifically, the alleged treason of supporting U.S. economic sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro and state-owned companies.

France's foreign ministry on Wednesday reiterated Macron's comments and said it was studying the best way to accompany all initiatives that would enable credible dialogue that included regional countries.

"The French head-of-state's affirmations show a deep lack of knowledge of the reality of Venezuela, whose people live in complete peace", the statement said.

The UN report accused Venezuelan authorities of implementing a policy of repression to crack down on months of street protests against Maduro.

The 36-page report by the U.N human rights office adds personal accounts, attacks on journalists and other details to preliminary findings that the office released August 8 citing "systematic use of excessive force" during anti-government demonstrations.

Venezuela, which is suffering from an acute economic crisis marked by shortages of basic goods, has experienced months of street demonstrations against Maduro that have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors.

Some 882 people are now believed to remain in custody, among 5,341 arbitrarily detained in street protests since April, U.N. human rights official Hernan Vales said. "The Government must ensure there are prompt, independent and effective investigations of the human rights violations allegedly committed by the security forces and of the abuses involving armed colectivos or violent protesters. The report also identifies serious violations of due process and patterns of ill-treatment, in some cases amounting to torture", Zeid said.

More than 5,300 people have been detained in Venezuela since April 1, with more than 800 still held, the report authors said, adding that more than 700 detained civilians had had their cases handled in the military justice system.

The report documents attacks against journalists and media workers by security forces that were apparently aimed at preventing them from covering demonstrations. The report is based on their analysis of the information they gathered, including through some 135 interviews with victims and their families, witnesses, civil society organisations, journalists, lawyers, doctors, first responders and the Attorney General's Office.

"The United States condemns the call of the illegitimate Venezuelan Constituent Assembly to trials of the political opposition, including members of the democratically elected legislative assembly, with charges of treason and culpability in the economic crisis", said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert in an official statement.

The report calls on the UN Human Rights Council to consider taking measures to prevent the human rights situation in Venezuela, now a Council member, from worsening.


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