The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today held its first public hearing in the Venezuela Case 1. For the first time, the victims had a voice through Paolina Massida, representative of the Office of Public Defense of the Victims of the ICC. The chamber must rule on the appeal filed by the Bolivarian revolution against the decision of the judges of the Preliminary Chamber, who authorized prosecutor Karim Khan to continue his investigations for crimes against humanity
But the big surprise was on the other side, on the defense bench: Nicolás Maduro has hired the English lawyer Ben Emmerson, protagonist of such renowned cases as the defense of Abu Qatada, the radical cleric considers the spiritual leader of Al Qaeda in Europe , and Julián Assange, the WikiLeaks activist.
Emmerson, who did not convince almost anyone in his defense today, also counted among his clients Carlos Puidgemont and other leaders of the independence movement (Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sánchez), whom he represented against Spain and before the United Nations for ” violate their political rights.”
From being considered a “Goliath of human rights” and confronting Vladimir Putin for the case of the radioactive poisoning of Aleksander Litvinenko, Emmerson has gone on to defend the Chavista dictatorship, accused of crimes against humanity such as torture, extra-summary executions, sexual rape , arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances.
“I am surprised that the Venezuelan government, with an anti-imperialist narrative, hires an English lawyer. What did not surprise me was his presentation,” Alfredo Romero, president of Foro Penal, present in The Hague, revealed to EL MUNDO. Romero, in an opinion shared by different human rights defenders, highlighted the work of Massida and the team of prosecutor Karim Khan.
“Venezuela is not, nor will it be in the future, investigating the crimes against the relatives and friends of the victims,” ??Massida answered bluntly to the questions of Peruvian judge Luz Ibáñez Carranza. Massida gave voice to the meticulous work that family members and human rights organizations have carried out to expose the crimes against humanity of the Bolivarian revolution in a hearing that will continue tomorrow in The Hague.
“The approach of the Venezuelan State is that they could not respond because the Prosecutor’s Office did not tell them about the investigation, including who the victims and perpetrators were, which is totally absurd at this time since, as the Prosecutor’s Office pointed out, what they are looking for is for the investigation to move forward,” Romero explained to this newspaper.
“Given the limitations of the ICC, it is evident that a balance must be sought between the necessary establishment of responsibilities at the international level and the construction of factual and institutional conditions so that there can be justice within Venezuela. That is why the ICC Prosecutor’s Office signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Venezuela and is waiting to open an assistance office in Caracas. The government’s delays in allowing this cooperation make its lack of will to investigate even more evident,” Mariano de Alba, senior advisor of the CrisisGroup.
