Faced with New ICC Prosecutor, Opposition in Venezuela Pushes for Desired Verdict
The Venezuelan opposition and its international allies increased their pressure on the International Criminal Court (ICC) with new maneuvers to encourage a hasty verdict against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Statements by opposition elements perhaps reflected their frustration with the ICC’s change of management this week. Before her departure, outgoing ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda did not provide the confirmation they had hoped to receive to their damaging accusations regarding the South American nation.
Therefore, spokespeople for the opposition factions requested that British lawyer Karim Khan, the new ICC chief prosecutor sworn in yesterday, respond quickly regarding the case left open by the Gambian jurist Bensouda.
In this regard, the fugitive from Venezuelan justice, Julio Borges, posted a couple of messages on Twitter, in an attempt to set the stage for the arrival of the new chief prosecutor. His argument was that the previous official had already assumed criteria against Venezuela.
La fiscal de la CPI Fatou Bensouda termina su gestión sin informar los resultados del examen preliminar sobre crímenes de lesa humanidad ocurridos en Venezuela y propiciados por la dictadura de Maduro.
— Julio Borges (@JulioBorges) June 16, 2021
A similar position was shown by Delsa Solórzano, representative of the Venezuelan opposition organization Encuentro Ciudadano, stating that “the change of prosecutor (at the ICC) does not paralyze the process and a pronouncement is expected soon. The new prosecutor, who takes office tomorrow, is fully aware of the Venezuela case.”
What does the court say?
Meanwhile, the ICC responded to the request for judicial control introduced by the Venezuelan State, on May 27, 2021, through the permanent mission of the Bolivarian Government in The Hague.
The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, reported on Twitter that the international court, in its response, referred to “unquestionable and fruitful collaboration” on behalf of the South American nation during the preliminary examination of the case.
#COMUNICADO En el día de ayer, Venezuela ha recibido la notificación de la resolución de la Sala de Cuestiones Preliminares de la CPI sobre la solicitud de control judicial demandada con base en el artículo 46.2 del Reglamento de la CPI, presentada el pasado 27 de mayo. pic.twitter.com/3q7aJqgYs3
— MinPublicoVE (@MinpublicoVE) June 15, 2021
On the other hand, the statement from the Public Ministry highlighted that the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber urges its representatives to “engage in a meaningful dialogue with Venezuela.”
Similarly, the Venezuelan government considered as positive the statement that praised the collaboration of the Republic with the Prosecutor of the ICC, and demonstrated “satisfaction at the request that it [the ICC] exercise greater collaboration and take a more constructive and serious direction for the next steps in the preliminary examination.”
Venezuelan authorities have denounced the country’s extreme-right opposition and its masters in Washington for putting pressure on the International Criminal Court to pronounce against President Maduro in the Venezuela I case regarding alleged human rights violations.
Featured image: ICC headquarters in Geneva. File photo.
(RedRadioVE) by José Manuel Diaz, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
José Manuel Blanco Diaz
Vice President of the Radio Miraflores Foundation |radiomiraflores.net.ve | Presenter of | UCV Social Communication | UCV announcer
