AFP
“Not a secret office,” says ICC prosecutor about its branch in Venezuela
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan stressed Monday in Caracas that the branch of the ICC that he was going to open in Venezuela to investigate possible human rights violations, was not ” a secret office.” “After this meeting, I will open an office in Venezuela. It is not a secret office. I do not work illegally or clandestinely,” said Mr. Khan, who notably met President Nicolas Maduro. and Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez. “We are opening an office thanks to the support and agreement of Venezuela,” he said, assuring that it will contribute “to strengthening complementarity and cooperation.” “We will continue to work, to do what we say we do: that is to say, to work independently, impartially, without ulterior motives,” he continued. He stressed “focusing on the objectives particularly relevant to the investigation of crimes that may constitute genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.” “I think there is agreement on one truth: namely that the dark clouds of suspicions will not dissipate without a gentle breeze or winds of credible investigations,” he imagined. His visit comes after the ICC rejected Venezuela’s appeal on March 1 against its investigation into crimes against humanity during the 2017 anti-government protests that left some 125 people dead. Caracas considers that this is an “unfounded decision”, arguing that the case should be settled by its own courts, ensuring that it has initiated numerous proceedings against representatives of the order. The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, told Mr Khan that the country had made “great progress” on human rights. He detailed that 2,795 state security agents have since 2017 been accused of human rights violations. Among them, 1,021 “are in prison”, 580 have been convicted and 524 others are the subject of an arrest warrant. The ICC, based in The Hague, began its formal investigation in November 2021 following Mr Khan’s first official visit to Caracas. As a court of last resort, it acts if it believes there is a failure , voluntary or not, of national jurisdictions. The ICC, created in 2002, is the only independent court in the world responsible for investigating the most serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.mbj -pgf/lab/tmt
2024-04-23 08:46:23
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