IACHR granted precautionary measures in favor of Juan Pablo Guanipa

This Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in favor of the opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa Villalobosafter considering that their rights to life and personal integrity face a risk of irreparable harm in Venezuela.

The 59-year-old lawyer and presidential candidate for the Primero Justicia party, has reported several arrest attempts against him in the demonstrations in which he participatedafter the presidential elections of July 28, in which Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed the winner, which anti-Chavismo considers fraudulent.

According to the requesting party, Guanipa “has been the subject of intimidation, harassment and attacks since at least 2016.” And last August he was allegedly persecuted at least twice by agents of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), after speaking out in favor of Edmundo González Urrutia, who is in exile in Spain.

Besides, Several members of the leader’s family were also allegedly harassed, On September 26, Guanipa’s brother was allegedly detained without being formally informed of the reasons for his arrest. The place of confinement in which he is located is also unknown.

In a statement, the IACHR requested the State of Venezuela to adopt the necessary measures to protect the life and personal integrity of Guanipa, former first vice president of the National Assembly (AN, Parliament).

The autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) specifically requested that the Venezuelan State ensure that its agents “respect the rights and personal integrity” of the opposition leader in accordance with the standards established by international human rights law. as well as in relation to risk acts attributable to third parties.

Guanipa is part of the members of the Venezuelan opposition, like the leader María Corina Machado, who have had to abandon street demonstrations against the regime for fear of suffering reprisals and even abandon their home, in her case, the state of Zulia. (northwest, border with Colombia), according to what he told EFE in a recent interview.

At least 157 opposition politicians and social activists are currently detained in Venezuela, many of them collaborators of González Urrutia and Machado, according to the Human Rights Committee of the Vente Venezuela (VV) formation, led by the former deputy.