The Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned Venezuela for two extrajudicial executions

07/19/2021 21:39

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 07/19/2021 9:39 PM

The

Inter

-

American Court

of Human Rights (

Inter

-

American

Court) on Monday condemned Venezuela as responsible for the

extrajudicial execution of Jimmy Rafael Guerrero

, based on discrimination due to age and socioeconomic status, as well as the murder of his relative

Ramón Antonio Molina.

The judgment of the Court indicated that

the Venezuelan State violated the

rights to life,

personal integrity, personal liberty,

constitutional guarantees

and judicial protection, to the detriment of Guerrero, as well as the right to life to the detriment by Molina Pérez.

In addition to the violation of the same

rights of the families

of both victims, with the exception of life.

The case dates back to

March 2003

, during the time of Hugo Chávez, when the 26-year-old Guerrero and his relative were extrajudicially executed at the hands of police officers in the state of Falcón.

Guerrero, since the previous year, had been the victim of

harassment, illegal and arbitrary detentions and acts of torture

committed by police forces, according to the sentence.

The sentence - and the demand to investigate those responsible, police and politicians - falls on the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

"The acts committed against Jimmy Guerrero involved acts whose manner of commission, linked to the aforementioned context, denotes that they were

motivated by preconceptions

of the police officers, consisting of the attribution of an alleged dangerousness to a

young

man living

in poverty,

" it indicates the verdict.

Nicolás Maduro and a billboard of Hugo Chávez, who was presiding over Venezuela at the time of the executions.

Reuters photo

"In relation to the above, the Court warned that poverty and age are conditions that acquire protection against discrimination," the document adds.

As the international court explained, during one of the episodes, the agents pointed out that Guerrero was an

"antisocial" and "dangerous" person

.

In its conclusion, the Court noted that the acts committed against Guerrero were motivated by preconceptions of the police officers.

The Court also established that, after the murder, the police officers demonstrated

a serious cruelty against

Guerrero's

body

.

A manifestation of police violence against young men in a situation of poverty, as well as the conviction of the aggressors that the episode would go unpunished.

The judgment also affirms that the State of Venezuela violated the rights and judicial guarantees due to the

failure to investigate the facts committed against Guerrero

before his death, and that the due investigation to determine the corresponding responsibilities was also lacking.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights named the Venezuelan police for the 2023 executions. Photo DPA

Before his death, the victim

had reported to state entities and the press

 the acts of harassment, detention, threats and attacks that he suffered since 2002 by police officials against him and his family members.

"This Court concluded that Mr. Guerrero was

subjected to torture

in the context of his detention on February 17, 2003, for the harassment he suffered on that occasion," the text cites.

And he continues: "The Court understood that Mr. Guerrero suffered severe attacks, which had to

cause him intense pain

and discomfort. It understood that they were inserted in a series of acts committed by police personnel against him or his family members, which included death threats ".

They claim to find those responsible

The Inter-American Court ordered that investigations and criminal proceedings be carried out in order to

identify, prosecute, and punish the persons responsible

for both deaths, as well as carry out procedures to determine disciplinary or administrative responsibilities of state officials for obstacles to the process.

The Inter-American Court is part of the OAS, led by Luis Almagro.

Photo EFE

In addition, the State must carry out training and sensitization actions for Falcón state police officers and pay the compensation set for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.

During the process, the State

recognized its international responsibility

and undertook to comply with the corresponding comprehensive reparations.

The Inter-American Court, based in Costa Rica, is part of the Organization of American States (OAS), and its resolutions are binding for the countries of the hemisphere that have recognized its jurisprudence.

Among its members is the former judge of the Argentine Supreme Court Raúl Zaffaroni.

Kirchnerist Raúl Eugenio Zaffaroni, member of the Inter-American Court that condemned Venezuela for crimes and torture.

Photo Lucia Merle

With information from EFE

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