The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court demands the freedom of children and political prisoners in Venezuela

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, Karim Khan, demanded the freedom of political prisoners and children in Venezuela,a day after the global protest this Sunday where he had been criticized for his lack of action on the crimes against humanity committed by the Chavista regime.

Prosecutor Khan made a first assessment of the “Venezuela I” investigation which began after three years and one year of having established an office in the Venezuelan capital. His statement raised the spirits of human rights defenders after the global protest that took place this Sunday where the slowness of the ICC was criticized.

The protesters demanded justice from the prosecutor for the crimes committed by the Venezuelan government so that he orders the arrest and prosecution of Nicolás Maduro.

In the presentation of his report, Khan recalled that during his visit to Caracas last April, “I also emphasized to the Venezuelan authorities the need to give a boost and real progress (to investigations) and my office has been following up on that.”

“And after this year’s elections (July 28) I insisted in my communications with Venezuela and in public statements on the need to protect the rights of civilians, including childrenwho must be released if they are detained for political reasons or anyone who was peacefully protesting,” he said.

The Maduro regime detained more than 2,000 people, including 168 children and minorsfor political reasons after the July 28 elections, who were peacefully protesting the president’s electoral fraud. A hundred political prisoners were released last week, of which between 40 and 50 children remain and a total of 1,907 are imprisoned, according to the NGO Foro Penal.

Khan also said that “They must allow entry to the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as they had previously promised me in writing, and they must cooperate more tangibly with my office.”

He highlighted that “there has been a constant commitment, there have been constant debates about complementarity.”

“But complementarity cannot be an endless story,” he emphasized.

He regretted not having seen “the concrete implementation of laws and practices in Venezuela that he expected” and warned that “That’s why I want to make it clear that the ball is on Venezuela’s side.”

He stressed that “the path of complementarity is running out of steam (exhausting). And as I have repeatedly said in public statements and in Venezuela that our independent investigations are underway, it has always been in parallel.”

Investigations “are active.” and we are working closely with a range of partners to meet our responsibilities.”

“So going back to my first comment regarding Venezuela, all victims are equally important and have the right to justice like everyone else,” he said.

The lawyer and human rights defender, Delsa Solórzano, commented on her account that Karin Khan’s statement It is a triumph for the cause of Venezuela and a recognition of child political prisoners, “This implies the knowledge that crimes against humanity are being committed in Venezuela today.”

Regarding the fact that the paths of complementarity are being exhausted (in my legal opinion I think they were exhausted a long time ago, but it is vital that the prosecutor said it today), Solórzano said.