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VENEZUELA – The International Criminal Court will investigate whether crimes against humanity were committed during Venezuela’s clampdown on anti-government protests in 2017, President Nicolas Maduro and ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Wednesday.
More than 100 people died as the security forces cracked down on the demonstrations sparked by the arrests of several opposition leaders and the supreme court’s decision to dissolve the opposition-dominated National Assembly.
After a preliminary evaluation, Khan “has decided to move on to the next phase to seek the truth”, said Maduro. “As a state, we respect his decision, although we do not share it.”
“I ask everyone, as we enter this new phase, to give my office space to do its work,” added Khan.
The move was hailed by opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has claimed since 2019 to be Venezuela’s interim president, backed by around 60 countries.
Guaido said on Twitter that this move would enable the victims and their families to “claim the right to obtain justice that has been denied in Venezuela”.
When the ICC opened the preliminary investigation in 2018, Khan’s predecessor Fatou Bensouda said there was a “reasonable basis” to believe the government had committed crimes against humanity.
Maduro complained that the Venezuelan state was not given access to the documents and information evaluated during that phase.
“We were blind during that stage,” said the president. – AFP, November 4, 2021
