Interim Report - Report No 108, 1969

Case No 485 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 15-JUN-66 - Closed

1. 164. The Committee previously considered this case at its sessions in February and November 1967, when it submitted to the Governing Body the interim reports contained in paragraphs 271 to 290 of its 95th Report and paragraphs 269 to 298 of its 101st Report, which were adopted by the Governing Body at its 168th Session (February-March 1967) and 170th Session (November 1967) respectively.
2. 165. In a communication dated 17 July 1968, the Government of Venezuela supplied the additional information requested from it in connection with certain aspects of the case which are still outstanding.
3. 166. Venezuela has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to the Detention of Trade Union Leaders
  167. 167 The complainants had supplied the names of 30 people who, they claimed, had been arrested as a result of the Government's policy of repression against part of the trade union movement. The complainants state that those arrested were national or regional leaders of the Sole Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (C.U.T.V.).
  168. 168 In its reply, dated 29 November 1966, the Government pointed out that none of the persons named by the complainants had been detained for carrying on lawful activities, whether connected with trade unionism or not. Most of them had never been trade union leaders, but they had been charged, tried and sentenced for proved offences under civil and military law in proceedings before judges on whom the Government had exerted no influence
  169. 169 In accordance with the practice which it has constantly followed where allegations that trade union leaders or workers have been arrested or detained on account of their trade union activities have been met by governments with statements that the arrests were made for subversive activities, for reasons of internal security or for common law crimes, the Committee, at its meeting in February 1967, recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to indicate the exact reasons for these arrests, to state whether each of the persons concerned had been brought to trial on the charges which had been laid against them, and to communicate the results of the legal proceedings in each case.
  170. 170 According to the additional information supplied by the Government, which was considered by the Committee at its session in November 1967, a number of the persons concerned had been released, and the proceedings taken against one of them before a court martial for the offence of rebellion had been discontinued. The Government stated that these persons had been brought to trial before various ordinary courts for offences such as subversion, violence against authority, carrying of weapons and offences against the safety of transport. The Committee considered that there would be no point in continuing its examination of the allegations relating to the persons who had been released.
  171. 171 As regards Mr. Eloy Torres, the Government indicated that, having taken part in a rising in the town of Carúpano, he had been sentenced by the Ad Hoc Court Martial of Ciudad Bolivar to eight years' imprisonment, a sentence that was commuted to deportation on 11 November 1966; Mr. Luis Felipe Ojeda, leader of a rising in the state of Carabobo, had been sentenced by the Caracas Military Court to 18 years' imprisonment. Mr. Efrain Blanco had been imprisoned in October 1963 by order of the Caracas Permanent Court Martial, the case then being before the Supreme Court; Mr. Leoncio Granda who had been arrested for his part in the storming and capturing of a police headquarters in the state of Yaracuy, where the commandant and two other police officers were killed, had been sentenced in May 1964 by a criminal court of first instance to a sentence of from 20 to 30 years' imprisonment.
  172. 172 In addition, the military courts had at their disposal Messrs. Humberto Arrieti, Justo Rafael Galíndez, Gustavo Villaparedes, Manual Josh Lucker Ruiz (called Manuel Luckert in the complaint) and Jesús Alberto Márquez, who had been accused of various offences of rebellion and subversion, the last-named being in addition accused of possessing weapons, kidnapping and murder.
  173. 173 The Government had also supplied details, including dates and places, of the arrest by the police of 11 other persons named in the complaint (Messrs. Pardo Lugo, Reyes Bidau, Gutiérrez, Landáez, Puche Ferrer, Colorado, Acosta, Farifias, Scott Power, Casique and Luis Marcano). Some of these persons had been arrested on various occasions on dates between 1959 and December 1966 on the grounds of subversive activities or in connection with inquiries relating to such activities. For example, the Government stated that Mr. Scott Power had been arrested in April 1965 in connection with inquiries into incitement to disorder and extremist agitation, and that Mr. Pardo had been arrested in February 1962, in 1963 and in December 1966 on grounds connected with the disturbance of public order or for the investigation of subversive activities. In paragraph 294 of its 101st Report, the Committee requested the Government to be good enough to confirm whether all the persons concerned are at liberty.
  174. 174 On the other hand, the Government in its reply made no reference to the case of Mr. Luis Emiro Arrieta (claimed by the C.U.T.V. to be one of its leaders and to have died in prison after two years' detention), to the case of Mr. Donato Carmona Natera (" a trade union leader in the building sector and a militant revolutionary ", according to the C.U.T.V, who had disappeared in September 1965, and about whom the police had given contradictory information).
  175. 175 In accordance with the practice it has always followed in similar cases, and in view of the contradiction existing between the statements of the complainants and those of the Government concerning the grounds for the detentions, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to supply the text of the sentences pronounced on Messrs. Torres, Ojeda, Blanco and Granda.
  176. 176 As regards the persons named in paragraph 172 above, the Committee recalled that in all cases in which trade unionists had been detained for political offences or common law crimes, it had emphasised the importance it attaches to the right of trade unionists, like all other persons, to receive a fair trial at the earliest possible moment by an impartial and independent judicial authority. In view of the Government's observations, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to ask the Government for certain additional information on the stage reached in the trials in question and the rules of procedure applied by the military courts, and also for the text of the sentences handed down with respect to these persons, as well as the grounds adduced therein.
  177. 177 Lastly, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations on the cases of Messrs. Carmona Natera and Arrieta.
  178. 178 The 101st Report having been approved by the Governing Body, the requests mentioned above were communicated to the Government which replied in its letter dated 17 July 1968.
  179. 179 As regards Messrs. Arrieti, Galíndez, Villaparedes and Lucker Ruiz, all tried for rebellion by court martial, the Government communicates the dates on which the different judges passed the sentences of imprisonment, and with regard to the case of Mr. Gustavo Villaparedes, the date on which the court martial passed sentence, an appeal against which was made to the Supreme Court of Justice. The Government also indicates the dates on which the cases against these four people were later discontinued.
  180. 180 The Government supplied the texts of the sentences passed on Messrs. Torres, Ojeda, Blanco and Leoncio Granda.
  181. 181 It appears from these documents that after the legislature had agreed to waive the immunity of Mr. Torres, a Deputy, it was ordered that he should be arrested and tried by the Court Martial. An appeal was made against the sentence passed but the sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court Martial on 20 November 1962, a copy of the sentence being supplied by the Government. The Supreme Court Martial, on the basis of the testimonies and evidence to which it referred, considered that it was fully proved that an act of rebellion had taken place in Carúpano, in a unit of the army, that the matter came under section 476, paragraph 1, of the Code of Military Justice, and that the accused had been at the scene of the events in the company of the leaders of the uprising. According to the military court, Mr. Torres' complicity has been proved not only by his own statements but also by proven facts, such as the wearing of military uniform and carrying of arms " with which he was seen in the places indicated previously ". Since the accused was a civilian, the Supreme Court Martial reduced the sentence, as provided for in section 487 of the Code of Military Justice, to eight years and eight months' imprisonment.
  182. 182 The sentence of second instance passed on Mr. Ojeda was rendered by the Court Martial on 15 December 1962. The court found that the persons concerned were guilty of the offence of rebellion. Mr. Ojeda and certain other persons were sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment as " leaders of the rebellion ". From the sentence it appears that the matter had been referred to the Court Martial by the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of Justice.
  183. 183 With regard to Mr. Blanco, the Government supplied the text of the judgment passed on 23 November 1962, in which Mr. Blanco and others (both soldiers and civilians) were sentenced to terms of imprisonment (four years for Mr. Blanco) by the Court Martial, to which the case had been referred by another court.
  184. 184 The sentence on Mr. Granda was passed by a criminal court to which the matter had been referred; this court, which had before it an appeal against a sentence of the courts of first and second instance, acquitted Mr. Granda.
  185. 185 Lastly, the Government states that there is no mention, in the police archives, of Mr. Donato Carmona Natera. The Government says that it might be suggested to the complainants that they should get in touch with the relatives of this person, if he exists, to find out whether he is alive and where he is. As regards Mr. Luis Emiro Arrieta, the Government says that on 27 July 1965 he died from an illness in a private nursing home. Mr. Arrieta, tried for the offence of rebellion, had been imprisoned in April 1963 by order of the investigating magistrate.
  186. 186 The texts of the sentences supplied by the Government show that Messrs. Torres, Ojeda and Blanco were condemned in 1962 by military courts for the offence of rebellion, as defined in the legislation. These sentences were confirmed by higher courts of the same jurisdiction, to which in at least two of the cases the matter had been referred by decision of the Supreme Court of Justice. As regards Mr. Torres, the Government had previously stated that the sentence had been commuted to deportation (see paragraph 171 above). In the case of Mr. Granda, it appears from the judgment of the court to which the matter was referred that the person concerned had been tried and sentenced by a judge and court of appeal for offences under common law, but was finally acquitted by the court to which the matter was later referred. It does not seem, from the texts of the sentences, that the facts on which the sentences were based had any connection with trade union activities. In these circumstances, and in view of the information supplied by the complainants and the Government, it does not appear to have been shown that this aspect of the case raises a question calling for further examination by the Committee.
  187. 187 The information supplied by the Government shows that the proceedings, also for the offence of rebellion against Messrs. Arrieti, Galíndez, Villaparedes, Lucker Ruiz and Márquez Finol, have been discontinued. It also appears from the Government's communication that in cases of this kind an appeal can be made to the Supreme Court of Justice. The Government's statement seems to indicate that these persons are at present at liberty. In these circumstances, the Committee considers that there would be no point in pursuing its examination of this aspect of the case.
  188. 188 With regard to Mr. Arrieta, the Government's statement shows that the accused was actually detained from 1963 to 1965 by order of a judge, in connection with a trial for the offence of rebellion, but that he died of illness, not in gaol but in a private medical establishment. In these circumstances, the Committee considers that no purpose would be served in continuing its examination of this aspect of the case.
  189. 189 As regards Mr. Carmona Natera, the Government's statement would seem to show that no such person has been or is at present detained. In view of this statement, and in view of the fact that the allegation was based on an article in a newspaper, the Committee considers that there is no point in pursuing this aspect of the case.
  190. 190 On the other hand, the Government has not supplied the additional information requested by the Committee in paragraph 294 of its 101st Report, in connection with the other persons concerned, which would have enabled the Committee to determine with certainty whether the persons mentioned in paragraph 173 above are at liberty, the Government having previously stated that they had been arrested on various occasions for alleged subversive activities or for investigation of such activities.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 191. In these circumstances, and with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to note that, according to the texts of the judgments supplied by the Government, Messrs. Torres, Ojeda and Blanco were sentenced for activities considered as offences of rebellion, which do not seem to have had any connection with trade union activities, and to decide, for the reasons set forth in paragraph 186 above, that this aspect of the case calls for no further examination.
   • (b) to note that the sentence passed by the ordinary courts on Mr. Granda was quashed by the court to which the matter was subsequently referred and to decide, for the reasons set forth in paragraph 186 above, that this aspect of the case calls for no further examination;
   • (c) to take note of the Government's statement that the cases against Messrs. Arrieti, Galíndez, Villaparedes, Lucker Ruiz and Márquez Findol, before courts martial for acts considered as offences of rebellion have been discontinued, and to decide, for the reasons set forth in paragraph 187, that this aspect of the case does not call for further examination;
   • (d) to decide, for the reasons set forth in paragraphs 188 and 189, that there would be no point in continuing its examination of the allegations relating to Messrs. Arrieta and Carmona Natera;
   • (e) to request the Government to be good enough to confirm whether the persons mentioned in paragraph 173 above, who, according to a previous statement by the Government, had been detained at different times, are at present at liberty;
   • (f) to take note of this interim report, it being understood that the Committee will submit a further report once it has received the information requested from the Government in subparagraph (e) above.