IACHR Adopts Follow-Up on Precautionary Measures in Favor of José Javier Tarazona Sánchez in Venezuela

November 10, 2022

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) adopted Resolution 60/2022 on October 30, 2022, to change precautionary measures in favor of José Javier Tarazona Sánchez in Venezuela (258-20), and to follow up on his situation since he is currently deprived of liberty, after assessing the available information and identifying several challenges given the State's failure to respond.

The IACHR issued Resolution 30/2020 on June 18, 2020, to grant precautionary measures in favor of José Javier Tarazona Sánchez and his family, in the belief that he faced a serious risk of suffering irreparable harm to his rights. At the time, he was being subjected to threats and intimidation for his work as head of the organization FundaRedes, which denounced the presence of irregular armed groups in the country.

The Commission decided to issue a change and follow-up resolution considering that Tarazona Sánchez is being held at the facility known as Helicoide run by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN, by its Spanish acronym), where he is reportedly being subjected to torture, appalling conditions of detention, and a lack of required medical care. The IACHR further took into consideration the fact that, after it granted precautionary measures in 2020, the risks faced by Tarazona Sánchez remained unchanged until July 2, 2021, which led to the current scenario.

In its resolution, the IACHR noted the lack of a State response and stressed its interest in conducting a visit to Venezuela, and in particular to the Helicoide prison facility, to foster compliance with these and other precautionary measures.

Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the Commission decided to take the following action:

1. Change the focus of precautionary measures granted in favor of José Javier Tarazona Sánchez, given that he is currently deprived of liberty at the Helicoide facility
2. Ask the State to provide concrete, detailed, and up-to-date information about the implementation of these precautionary measures and about the situation of José Javier Tarazona Sánchez and of the members of his family identified in this resolution
3. Ask the State of Venezuela to adopt any measures necessary to protect the rights to life, personal integrity, and health of José Javier Tarazona Sánchez (to that end, the State needs both
   1. to ensure that its officers—particularly those running penitentiary facilities—will respect his life and personal integrity and to protect his rights from dangerous acts that may be perpetrated by third parties, in compliance with the standards of international human rights law)
   2. Ensure that his conditions of detention reflect the applicable international standards (the beneficiary should have adequate lighting and ventilation, access to sufficient healthy food and drinking water, an adequate space that protects his privacy, and opportunities to access recreational facilities; the State must also ensure that the beneficiary is not subjected to isolation and incommunicado regimes of any kind, and that he is not punished otherwise)
   3. Ensure access to medical care and treatment for the beneficiary's health issues, to grant him access to the best possible health (this involves providing him with all the medication he requires to treat his health problems and granting him access to independent doctors, in accordance with the form and procedures required for them to freely examine the beneficiary)
   4. Assess the option of adopting alternative measures to prison, given the considerations made by the Commission in this resolution
4. Ask the State to investigate with due diligence allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment or degrading treatment that may have been perpetrated by officers of the State against the beneficiary, as well as any other issues that might amount to crimes according to domestic legislation
5. Express the IACHR's willingness to conduct an on-site visit to Venezuela, specifically focused on the Helicoide facility
6. Ask the State to continue to implement all relevant monitoring measures, in keeping with Article 25.10 and other provisos included in the IACHR's Rules of Procedure

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 253/22

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