In it 194th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), human rights defender Tamara Suju, executive director of the Casla Institute, will denounce the continuity of forced disappearances in Venezuela and the persecution of relatives of exiled opponents.
The complaints will be presented in the context of the hearing titled “Venezuela: Follow-up on precautionary measures for detained people with unknown whereabouts in the post-electoral context”, scheduled for this Friday, November 21.
In conversation with The NationalSuju explained that the purpose of the meeting is to “update the precautionary measures so that the rapporteurs (of the IACHR) know if they have been complied with, if the State recognizes them, and in what situation the beneficiaries are.”
The lawyer stated that “every year they hold public hearings and the situation of the countries is debated through precautionary measures.” In the case of Venezuela, he added, “forced disappearances are what have had the greatest impact on the Inter-American Commission.”
Cases of missing Venezuelans
The Casla Institute presented to the IACHR the cases of Henrik Alberto Castillo Molero, Jan Darmovzal, Nahuel Agustín Gallo, Perkins Rocha, Ulises Ramón Martínez and Américo de Grazia, all beneficiaries of precautionary measures for forced disappearance.
Darmovzal, a Czech citizen, is presumed to be held in Rodeo 1, but there has been no official communication from the Venezuelan State to the Czech government about his whereabouts. This is also the case of the Argentine Nahuel Gallo, who also remains in an unknown location and there has been no official communication about his whereabouts and he is denied consular visits.
In relation to lawyer Perkins Rocha, Suju indicated that he was missing for a year and a month, until a relative was able to see him in El Helicoide.
“We say that he is missing because they have not seen him, because no one has seen him and because it was presumed that he was there, but until you verify that he is in that place, until no one sees him or he does not call and say where he is, you have to say that he is missing,” added the lawyer.
Organizations participating in the IACHR hearing
The hearing scheduled for this Friday at the IACHR will have the participation of the Citizen Center for Strategic Litigation, the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy, Defiende Venezuela, Espacio Público, Foro Penal, Instituto Casla, Ladies of Liberty, Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons and representatives of beneficiaries of the precautionary measures.
Each organization will present the cases of its constituents and the progress or stagnation in the implementation of the measures ordered by the IACHR. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of precautionary measures.
