View of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Arrest of former Venezuelan presidential candidate: UN says climate of fear prevails in country Human Rights
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has expressed deep concern about the “climate of fear” in Venezuela after an arrest warrant was issued for former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González.
Need for a peaceful solution
“There is currently a climate of fear in the country. We call on the government to take all necessary steps in accordance with international human rights law, in a transparent manner, and to take steps to resolve this dispute peacefully,” OHCHR representative Ravina Shamdasani said at a briefing in Geneva.
“People are being detained for exercising their right to political participation, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly,” she added.
The incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the July elections. However, the opposition is disputing the results of the vote, and protests continue across the country.
Gonzalez’s arrest
According to media reports, Gonzalez’s arrest follows his camp’s release of poll data indicating that he won the election. He is accused of multiple crimes, including falsifying documents.
While the UN Human Rights Office is not present in Venezuela, Shamdasani noted that OHCHR is “in contact” and “engaging” with the authorities in Caracas.
“We continue to call… on all parties to resolve all electoral disputes peacefully. “It is necessary to create a climate in which the rights of all persons, regardless of their political views, are protected,” Shamdasani emphasized.
Arrests of opposition supporters
According to the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, established by the UN Human Rights Council, the opposition protests were met with “brutal repression by the State, at the behest of the highest authorities, which created an atmosphere of general fear.”
Between July 28 and August 8, the mission recorded 23 deaths during the protests, mostly related to the use of firearms. The victims were mostly men under 30.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said earlier that more than 2,400 people had been arrested in Venezuela since the end of July. Many were charged under counter-terrorism laws.
“Criminal law should never be used to unjustifiably restrict the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” Türk said.
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