THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Thursday he will open an investigation into what was a violent crackdown by the Venezuelan government forces against protesters in 2017.
Karim Khan announced the move in a video posted to the Twitter account of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, who said that he disagreed with the decision, but nonetheless signed a memorandum of understanding, allowing court officials to conduct an investigation.
“I ask everybody now, as we move forward to this new stage, to give my office the space to do its work,” Khan said, standing alongside Maduro. “I will take a dim view of any efforts to politicize the independent work of my office.”
Venezuelans took to the streets in 2017, after the pro-Maduro Supreme Court dissolved the National Assembly, the country’s legislature. Years of economic recession and increasing authoritarianism under Maduro’s regime led millions to protest and government forces responded harshly, leaving more than 100 dead.
The start of the formal investigation comes on the heels of Khan's three-day visit to the country and a preliminary investigation that began in 2018 after Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru referred the matter to then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. It was the first time ICC member states asked the court to look into events in another member state.
The ICC was created in 2002 by the Rome Statute but for much of those years has focused its attention on almost exclusively on war crimes committed in Africa. After several African countries attempted to withdraw from the ICC in recent years, UN information officer Franck Kuwonu noted in a 2017 article that nine out of 10 cases before the court at the time involved an Africa nation.
The ICC is a court of last resort, tasked with stepping in when national justice systems can’t or won’t prosecute crimes. Caracas says it has prosecuted some 150 police and other law enforcement officials for committing violence during the protests. The country’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, says these were sham trials done to forestall ICC involvement. Guaidó claims to be the rightfully elected leader of the country and is backed by more than 50 countries, including the United States. He welcomed the news, saying on Twitter it would give victims and their families a chance at justice.
Also celebrating the news Wednesday was José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch. “The ICC’s first investigation in the Americas comes on the back of the extreme repression the Maduro government has inflicted on the Venezuelan people,” Vivanco said in a statement.
Khan didn’t specify the scope of his investigation. Human Rights Watch has documented abuses dating back to 2014, including torture and extrajudicial killings. The country has been in disarray since the death of longtime president President Hugo Chávez in 2013, experiencing rapid inflation, food shortages and power cuts. Some 4 million Venezuelans have left their country since 2014.
Follow @mollyquell
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
