Venezuelans march demanding release of diplomat Alex Saab from US prison. Photo: Roi López Rivas.
Over 180 social and human rights organizations from around the world have sent an open letter to US President Joe Biden calling for the release of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, currently detained illegally in a US prison. The signatories include two Nobel Peace Prize winners, the Tunisian League for Human Rights, the Observatory of Human Rights of the Peoples, the National Lawyers Guild of the United States, Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) of Brazil, and Argentina’s Frente Patria Grande.
The letter, dated August 2, 2023, proposes a prisoner exchange involving Saab for US citizens currently detained in Venezuela. “President Biden, we understand the policy that you have developed in recent months to negotiate prisoner exchanges through your powers, as expanded by the Executive Order of July 19, 2022, to return home US citizens detained in other countries,” the text reads, urging Biden to use said powers to release Saab through a prisoner exchange with Venezuela.
“This would not only highlight the execution of the commitment to bring home American citizens, but would also ratify the compliance of the United States of America with international law,” the letter stated.
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“Through this exchange, we are confident that we can put an end to the pain of the family members, and it is also a step that will allow us to move toward alignment between the United States and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” the letter continued.
In June 2020, Alex Saab, who was serving as a special envoy for the Venezuelan government en route to Iran, found himself under unlawful detention in Cape Verde, authorities of said country having arrested him at the request of the US District Court of Florida. The US then presented eight charges against Saab, seven of which were later dismissed. The lone remaining charge pertains to money laundering, which holds a potential 20-year prison term.
By July 2021, both the United Nations Working Group against Torture and a group of UN rapporteurs had raised concerns about Alex Saab’s deteriorating health conditions. During a visit by Saab’s family doctor to his detention in Cape Verde, numerous health issues as well as signs of torture were reported. Despite mounting pressure from the Venezuelan government and several Cape Verdean and international social and human rights organizations, Saab was illegally transported to the United States on October 16, 2021. It is worth mentioning that there no extradition treaty between the US and Cape Verde currently exists.
According to the US-based anti-war organization CODEPINK, Saab’s imprisonment at the Federal Detention Center in Miami “is even worse than it was in Cape Verde, as he is not allowed family visits, thus not being able to see his wife and children for over two years and eight months.”
Saab has also been deprived of consular visits. “The US State Department has not responded to the Venezuelan State’s request to grant him a consular visit, as established in Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” stated CODEPINK.
The full text of the letter is presented below:
August 02, 2023
President
Joseph Biden
United States of America
Washington, D.C.,
President Joe Biden,
We are writing to you to request urgent humanitarian action to secure the release of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab.
As you know, Alex Saab was detained three years ago in Cape Verde by order of Donald Trump’s administration. Now the Venezuelan Special Envoy is deprived of liberty in the United States, facing a judicial process that has generated deep concern in the international community, given his status as a Diplomat, appointed by the Venezuelan Government.
President Biden, we understand the policy that you have developed in recent months to negotiate prisoner exchanges through your powers, as expanded by the Executive Order of July 19, 2022, to return home US citizens detained in other countries.
On the basis of the above, in view of the willingness of the Government of Venezuela and given the delicate health condition of Alex Saab, who not receiving medical attention, despite being a cancer survivor and having reported several ailments, including vomiting blood, we request a humanitarian gesture from you for the exchange of prisoners.
This would not only highlight the execution of the commitment to bring home American citizens, but would also ratify the compliance of the United States of America with international law.
Through this exchange we are confident that we can put an end to the pain of the family members and it is also a step that will allow us to move towards understanding between the United States and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
(Últimas Noticias) by Narkys Blanco, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
