By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—After spending a year behind bars, a Venezuelan judge has been granted house arrest by a Venezuelan court.  The judge’s imprisonment and sentence have been harshly criticized by human rights defenders, who consider her a political prisoner.  She has only been released from prison now because she has cancer and needs treatment.  Originally, President Hugo Chavez had called for the judge to serve the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Maria Lourdes Afiuni, the judge, was imprisoned back in December of 2009 and faced charges stemming from her decision to free a banker who later jumped bail and absconded to the United States.  The banker, Eligio Cedeno, had been accused of breaking currency controls.  Afiuni was charged with abusing her authority.

Jose Amalio Graterol, Afiuni’s attorney, commented on the court’s decision last week to transition the judge from imprisonment to house arrest.  Graterol expressed his opinion that the change is a step in the right direction because he intends to prove that Afiuni is not guilty of any crime.  Graterol told Globovision, a television station in Venezuela with a reputation for opposing President Chavez, that Afiuni is being given house arrest so she can receive a hysterectomy and recover from surgery.   “They realized they were carrying out a death sentence against her,” the attorney said, referring to the judge’s poor health.

Human rights groups have said that the judge’s case sheds light on problems regarding the independence of Venezuela’s judiciary.  The Government, however, argues that her detention is the result of suspicions concerning Cedeno (the fleeing banker).

Afiuni has defended herself by stating that she acted lawfully by releasing Cedeno because he had been imprisoned for three years without a trial, which exceeds the legal limit.  Opponents of President Chavez regard Afiuni as a political prisoner and count her case as just one of several where the Government has overruled sound judicial procedure.

For more information, please see:

Today Online-Venezuelan court grants jailed judge house arrest-3 February 2011

BBC-Venezuela judge Maria Afiuni moved to house arrest-2 February 2011

El Universal-Attorney General officially requests house arrest for Judge Afiuni-2 February 2011

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – Last week, environmentalists and indigenous people adamantly rejected the Brazilian government’s decision allowing work to begin on a giant hydroelectric dam. The project will proceed while the state prosecutor filed an appeal to suspend the ruling.

Brazil’s environmental agency approved “necessary infrastructure” for the controversial $15-billion Belo Monte dam, which is set to become the third-largest in the world. This initial ruling authorizes Norte Energia to destroy 600 acres of forest and build roads to the Xingu River in the northeast Brazilian state of Para.

Sixty civic groups and non-governmental organizations representing everyone from environmentalists to local peasants have formed a coalition called “Xingu Lives Forever.” In a recent statement responding to the ruling, Xingu Lives Forever called this a “dictatorial act.” The group also added that they were “going to continue opposing this project with all our might.”

Opponents of the dam claim that it is “not economically viable” and that the dam’s construction will displace up to 30,000 people because of the planned flooding on the banks of the Xingu River. Other critics of the project say only a small proportion of the electricity to be generated by the dam will meet residential needs, while the bulk will go toward industrial and mining development, also likely to spread environmental damage in the area.

Philip Fearnside of the National Amazon Research Institute said that the forests flooded by the dam’s reservoirs will generate enormous qualities of methane, a greenhouse gas estimated to be 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

State prosecutor Felicio Pontes filed an appeal, arguing that agreed-upon conditions have not been met, particularly concerning the rehabilitation of degraded zones.

In a statement to the public, Pontes said “[d]ue to decisions like this, we can say today, (the environmental agency) is the author of the worst offense against the environment in the Amazon.” The federal government says Belo Monte is vital to the economic development of the country and claims that no native land is threatened. The state has also claimed that it is spending millions of dollars to offset the social and environmental impacts of the dam.

For more information, please see:

United Press International – Brazil Going Ahead with “Monster Dam” – 31 January 2011

AFP – Brazil Dam Go-Ahead Sparks Anger – 28 January 2011

Yahoo News – Brazil Green Lights Amazon Dam in Disregard for Environmental Laws and Local Opposition – 27 January 2011

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – According to a prominent human rights organization, President Hugo Chavez is using Venezuela’s judiciary to persecute his political opponents and to crack down on media critics and curtail the power of labor unions. In its annual report, Human Rights Watch condemned what it called “the Venezuelan government’s domination of the judiciary and its weakening of democratic checks and balances” last year.

The human rights group also posed warnings that Chavez’s control over judges and prosecutors has led to “a precarious human rights situation.” According to the New York based organization, “judges may face reprisals if they rule against government interests,” citing Judge Maria Afiuni’s arrest shortly after she ordered the release of a high-profile banker who opposed Chavez’s government.

Chavez  was critical of Afiuni’s decision to free Eligio Cedeno, who was accused of corruption and fled to Florida soon after his release in late 2009. Chavez demanded that Afiuni, who is facing charges of abuse of authority and “favoring evasion of justice,” receive the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Chavez adamantly denies having undue influence over the courts, insisting that the legal system remains autonomous and free from political influence. Other members of the president’s ruling party echoed Chavez’ sentiments about the Venezuelan judiciary, taking issue with the allegations in Human Rights Watch’s report.

According to Silvio Mora, a pro-Chavez lawmaker, “[e]very single one of the branches of government are independent: the judicial branch, the legislative branch and the executive branch.” In the same interview, Mora also claimed that “[e]veryone enjoys total freedom here.”

The accusations about Venezuela’s judiciary come a year after Chavez tightened control over that branch of the government. Many have criticized the move, comparing Chavez to Perez Jimenez, former military dictator of Venezuela, saying that both attempted to silence the news media, used the judiciary to jail adversaries and violated basic freedoms such as protest rights.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Rights Group: Chavez Using Judiciary Against Foes – 25 January 2011

Associated Press – Chavez Supporters, Foes Stage Anniversary Rallies – 23 January 2011

NPR – Venezuela’s Chavez Tightens Grip on Judiciary – 27 April 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile—The first official investigation into former President Salvador Allende’s death has begun. A Chilean judge opened the investigation decades after Allende died in 1973 in the midst of a military coup led by the infamous General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet’s subsequent dictatorship lasted 17 long years.

The judge’s order is just one of numerous investigations into 726 human rights violations that have yet to be prosecuted. Beatriz Pedrals, judicial prosecutor of the appeals court, explained that these inquiries into human rights crimes will seek “uniformity of criteria; in other words, what has not been investigated, the courts will investigate. This will finally establish what happened.” Judge Mario Carroza, in charge of Allende’s death inquiry, calls his obligation, “more than an important duty.”

Allende, a Socialist president, was democratically elected and then found dead at age 65 by armed forces who had captured the presidential palace. The military troops had attacked the palace for hours using firearms and bombs dropped by air force jets. In a radio broadcast he made as his palace was under attack, Allende predicted: “I will not resign. Placed in this historic juncture, I will pay with my life the loyalty of the people.”

At first, the results of an autopsy pointed to suicide. Allende apparently died from a bullet that was fired into his mouth from a short distance away. The autopsy report surmised that the gunshot wound “could have been made by himself.” But since 1973, many of the deceased president’s supporters have disagreed with the autopsy’s findings, suggesting instead that Allende was murdered by soldiers or snipers. Three years ago, an expert who examined the autopsy report concluded that Allende may have sustained injuries from two separate weapons.

According to Alicia Lira, president of the Association of Relatives of Politically Executed Persons, “Allende was murdered.” During Pinochet’s notorious military dictatorship, 3,000 people vanished or were murdered, and 50,000 were tortured or held captive. Pinochet, 91, died of a heart attack in 2006 while under investigation for a myriad of human rights abuses.

For more information, please see:

Radio Cadena Agramonte-Investigation of Allende Death in Chilean Political Spotlight-29 January 2011

NY Times-Chilean Judge Orders Investigation Into Allende’s Death-27 January 2011

BBC-Inquiry into 1973 death of Chile’s Salvador Allende-27 January 2011

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to Colombian media reports, authorities will investigate the case of an indigenous man found dead wearing a guerrilla uniform. Local community leaders claim that the situation is a “false positive” killing by the army.

Anderson Daugua, an indigenous villager, was found shot to death and “strangely” dressed in FARC clothing. Locals in the area say that Daugua was not part of the rebel group.

The body was reportedly found after a battle over the weekend between the Colombian army and the FARC in a rural area of Caloto. The battle left seven guerrillas and two military officers dead.

Rodrigo Rivera, Colombia’s Defense Minister, claims that Daugua was killed by members of FARC, who then staged the man in FARC clothing to make his death look like the army had executed the man and dressed him up as a guerrilla to increase the body count in combat.

Rivera told members of the press that the FARC staged the apparent false positive to discredit the Colombian military forces. “If we weren’t even able to collect our own dead and wounded, who would have had the time to dress someone up. I trust in the professionalism, decency and heroism of our armed forces. Of course our people know how these narco-terrorists of the FARC use lies to intent to disinform,” the Minister said.

The term “false positive” refers to a scandal in which some members of the armed forces were revealed to have murdered civilians and dressed them in guerrilla uniforms to increase kill counts.  There are currently hundreds of investigations ongoing to resolve these murders. Earlier this month, Colombian officials brought accusations against four members of the military, claiming that they had engaged in these “false positive” murders in 2002.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports – FARC Faked “False Positive” Killing: Gov’t – 25 January 2011

Colombia Reports – Authorities Investigate New “False Positive” Allegations – 24 January 2011

Latin America News Dispatch – Colombian Major and Four Soldiers Accused in “False Positive” Murders – 4 January 2011