AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

under which employees in public and private
companies could be transferred to state-run
food production companies, which would
amount to forced labour.
In October, the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights stated that several Special
Rapporteurs had experienced difficulties in
visiting the country because the government
failed to grant them the relevant permits.
In November, Venezuela’s human rights
record was examined for the second time
under the UN Universal Periodic Review
(UPR) process.
There was concern that the temporary
nature of the positions held by more than
60% of judges made them susceptible to
political pressure. Contrary to international
human rights standards, civilians were tried
before military courts. Police forces refused
to comply with release orders issued by
courts.
The powers of the opposition-led National
Assembly were severely limited by resolutions
from the Supreme Court of Justice, which
hindered the ability of MPs to represent
Indigenous Peoples. The Court also annulled
a parliamentary declaration on nondiscrimination
connected with sexual
orientation and gender identity; and a
declaration which called for compliance with
the decisions issued by intergovernmental
organizations.
IMPUNITY
The country’s withdrawal from the jurisdiction
of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
(in effect since 2013) continued to deny
victims of human rights violations and their
relatives access to justice, truth and
reparation.
Although two officials were convicted in
December of murdering Bassil Da Costa and
Geraldine Moreno during the 2014 protests,
progress was slow in bringing to justice those
suspected of criminal responsibility for the
killing of 41 other people – including security
force personnel – as well as the torture and
other ill-treatment of demonstrators during
the protests. The suspects included
members of the security forces. Information
provided by the Attorney General during the
UPR process revealed that nine officials had
been convicted of various crimes and that 18
others were under investigation, even though
298 investigations had been initiated the
previous year. However, the only official data
published by the Public Prosecutor’s Office
was about the conviction of one man for the
2014 murder of Adriana Urquiola in the city
of Los Teques, Miranda State.
According to a report presented to
Parliament by the Public Prosecutor’s Office
in January, over 11,000 reports of crimes
under international law and human rights
violations were received in 2015, while only
77 trials were initiated during that year. No
one had been brought to justice for the
killings of eight members of the Barrios family
or the threats and intimidation against other
family members in Aragua State since 1998.
Alcedo Mora Márquez, an employee of the
Government Secretariat in Merida State and a
community leader in the area, went missing
in February 2015. Before his disappearance,
he submitted reports on the misconduct of
local public officials.
In March, 28 miners disappeared in
Bolivar State; in October, the Public
Prosecutor’s Office presented a report
revealing that it had found the miners’
corpses and determined who was responsible
for their disappearance. Twelve people were
charged with murder, robbery and
“deprivation of liberty”. 1
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
There were continued reports of excessive
use of force by security forces, particularly in
the repression of protests over the lack of
food and medicine. In June, Jenny Ortiz
Gómez died as a result of several gunshots to
the head when police officers carried out
public order operations. The suspected
perpetrator was charged with intentional
homicide and misuse of firearms.
According to the Venezuelan Observatory
of Social Conflict, approximately 590 protests
were registered each month during the year.
The majority were related to demands for
394 Amnesty International Report 2016/17