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

The Interamerican court Human Rights (Inter-American Court) on Monday condemned Venezuela as responsible for the extrajudicial execution of Jimmy Rafael Guerrero, based on discrimination based on age and socio-economic status, as well as on the murder of his relative Ramon Antonio Molina.

The judgment of the Court indicated that the Venezuelan state violated the right to life, personal integrity, personal freedom, constitutional guarantees and judicial protection, to the detriment of Guerrero, as well as the right to life to the detriment of Molina Pérez.

In addition to the violation of the same family rights of the two victims, with the exception of life.

The case dates back to March 2003During Hugo Chávez’s full tenure, when Guerrero, 26, and his relative were extrajudicially executed by police in Falcón state. Guerrero since the previous year had been a victim of harassment, illegal and arbitrary detentions and acts of torture committed by police forces, depending on the sentence.

The conviction – and the demand to investigate those responsible, police and politicians – lies with the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

“The acts committed against Jimmy Guerrero involved acts whose mode of commission, linked to the aforementioned context, indicates that they were motivated by prejudices of police officers, consisting in attributing an alleged dangerousness to a man poor young man“indicates the verdict.

“With regard to the above, the Court warned that poverty and age are conditions which acquire protection against discrimination,” the document adds.

As the international tribunal explained, during one of the episodes, officers pointed out that Guerrero was a “antisocial” and “dangerous” person. In its conclusion, the Court noted that the acts committed against Guerrero were motivated by preconceived ideas of the police.

The court also found that after the murder, the police demonstrated severe cruelty to the body warrior. A manifestation of police violence against young men living in poverty, as well as the conviction of the attackers that the episode would go unpunished.

The judgment also claims that the State of Venezuela violated the rights and judicial guarantees of the lack of investigation into the acts committed against Guerrero before his death, and that the appropriate investigation to determine the corresponding responsibilities was also lacking.

The victim, before his death, had denounced before state entities and the press the acts of harassment, detention, threats and attacks to which he has been the victim since 2002 by the police against him and members of his family.

“This Court found that Mr. Guerrero was subjected to torture in the context of his detention on February 17, 2003, for the harassment he suffered on this occasion, ”quotes the text.

And he continues: “The Court understood that Mr. Guerrero suffered serious assaults, which must have cause severe pain and discomfort. He understood that they were part of a series of acts committed by the police against him or members of his family, which included death threats. “

They claim to find those responsible

The Inter-American Court ordered that criminal investigations and prosecutions be carried out in order to identify, judge and punish those responsible of the two deaths, as well as the execution of procedures to determine the disciplinary or administrative responsibilities of state officials for obstacles to the process.

In addition, the State must carry out training and awareness-raising actions for police officers in the State of Falcón and pay the compensation set for material and moral damage.

During the process, the State recognized its international responsibility and promised to comply with the corresponding full repairs.

The Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court is part of the Organization of American States (OAS) and its resolutions are binding on countries in the hemisphere that have recognized its jurisprudence. Among its members is former Argentine Supreme Court judge Raúl Zaffaroni.

With information from EFE