Caracas accused the Netherlands on Monday (December 13th) of having refused the authorizations of a diplomatic flight which was to allow a Venezuelan delegation to go to a meeting with Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) .
“
The Netherlands using (...) stratagems prevented the transfer of our delegation.
They set conditions that were impossible to fulfill,
”said Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez.
"
Venezuela strongly protests against the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for this illicit, illegal affront, which violates all international agreements
," she added.
Read also Venezuela suspected of crimes against humanity
A Venezuelan delegation was to go to The Hague on December 14 for a meeting planned around the memorandum signed between Caracas and the ICC and marking the opening of an investigation into possible crimes against humanity during the anti-power demonstrations of 2017 in Venezuela, said Delcy Rodriguez.
"
Not enough elements
"
According to the vice-president, the Netherlands would have informed Caracas that they
“did not have enough elements on the safety and the protection
” of the planes transporting the Venezuelan delegation. “
Our delegation was to take a non-commercial flight from Conviasa (the Venezuelan airline targeted by US sanctions seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro from power), it was an official diplomatic flight. This plane flies around the world,
”added Delcy Rodriguez.
The ICC prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation in 2018 into alleged human rights violations by the government, in particular due to the violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2017 in which nearly 100 people died. The Venezuelan prosecutor stressed to him that more than 150 members of the security forces have been indicted for human rights violations since 2017, proof according to him of a real desire to judge those responsible for these deaths. He assured that "
Venezuela, with its judicial system, will do its own investigation
." Meanwhile, Venezuela asked the ICC in February to investigate US sanctions against Venezuela, saying they amounted to a crime against humanity.