Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) calls on relevant national authorities to immediately release Mr. Edgar Zambrano, vice-president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, who was arbitrarily detained on Wednesday 8 May 2019 by agents of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) in Caracas.
On 30 April 2019, the president of the National Assembly and opposition leader Juan Guaidó unsuccessfully attempted to stage a non-violent uprising against the Maduro administration, calling on the armed forces to stop supporting him. Maduro was re-elected in May 2018 after a heavily questioned electoral process deemed illegitimate. No International Organization to which Venezuela is a member or with which Venezuela has a cooperation agreement validated this process. The illegal detention of Mr. Zambrano is part of the retaliation response of the government to this attempt.
The persecution of political opponents has been a tool used by the Maduro regime to silence dissent. In early April 2019, the Constituent Assembly stripped Mr. Guaidó of his parliamentary immunity in contravention to the Article 200 of the Constitution, which reads as follow: “Deputies of the National Assembly shall enjoy immunity in the exercise of their functions from the time of their installation until the end of their term or resignation. Only the Supreme Tribunal of Justice shall have competence over any crimes may be charged as committed by members of the National Assembly, and only the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, subject to authorization in advance from the National Assembly, shall have the power to order their arrest and prosecution. In the case of a flagrant offense committed by a legislator, the competent authority shall place such legislator under house arrest and immediately notify the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of such event.”
Additionally, the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, which lacks judicial independence as various international organizations have pointed out, has ordered the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of 3 parliamentarians, namely Sergio Vergara, Freddy Superlano and Juan Andrés Mejía. In this regard, on 8 May 2019, the president of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy, Sovereignty and Integration, Mr. Francisco Sucre, PGA member, has denounced this decision as unconstitutional.
The repressive apparatus of the regime has severely affected 24 parliamentarians and 5 of their deputies, who have been forced to exile or arbitrary detention.
The attacks carried by the Venezuelan regime against their civilian opponents have been widespread and systematic: Such attacks may be qualified as the crime against humanity of persecution under article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which defines “Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender (…), or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court” as a crime against humanity. These attacks occur on the basis of discrimination based on political orientation, ranging from the non-distribution of food, to physical attacks and judicial execution of parliamentarians carried out by criminal gangs affiliated with the regime, as detailed in the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The global PGA membership reiterates that threats against the physical integrity of any political leader, including elected parliamentarians, and the use of unfounded politically motivated charges against legislators of any political party are unacceptable. Such persistent violations of fundamental human rights and the principle of separation of powers erode the proper functioning of democratic institutions.
All parties shall respect the fundamental human rights of all societal components and the principles and norms enshrined in the National Constitution and in international law.
PGA stands for the human rights of Parliamentarians wherever they are violated. The escalation of violence in Venezuela is not new, but it is now reaching a level that may open the doors for a fully-fledged and disastrous civil war. We call for compliance with the Statute that governs the transition to democracy to restore the validity of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, approved by the National Assembly, to carry out free, transparent and competitive presidential elections corresponding to the period of 2019-2025. Margareta Cederfelt, MP (Sweden), President of PGA
The immense sufferings of the Venezuelan people must come to an end and the International Community shall support without reservation the efforts by the non-violent leadership of the National Assembly to bring about an institutional transition in Venezuela. We urge the prosecutorial and penitentiary authorities of Venezuela to re-establish the constitutional legal order and immediately release all political prisoners, including Deputy-Speaker Zambrano and all Parliamentarians arbitrarily detained. Dip. Victor Bisono (Dominican Republic), Chair of the PGA International Council
The National Assembly of Venezuela is bound to respect the National Constitution and international human rights’ norms and principles that our State has freely accepted: therefore, our quest for justice, democracy and human rights is peaceful and non-violent. As legitimate authority entrusted by the Constitution to serve our people, Members of the National Assembly call on all government officials within Venezuela, all International Organizations and all States to support a peaceful transition towards democracy and the Rule of Law. The current humanitarian catastrophe that led millions of Venezuelans to be obliged to choose between taking refuge in other States or resisting against gross violations of their fundamental rights in their own country must trigger our common responsibility to protect human rights. Dip. Armando Armas (Venezuela), Chair of the PGA Venezuela National Group