The International Criminal Court (ICC) received the complaint regarding the case of Voz Media journalist Orlando Avendaño, who was persecuted and publicly threatened by the Nicolás Maduro regime this week.
According to lawyer and human rights defender Tamara Suju, executive director of Casla Institute, the complaint before the ICC was listed as “incident #97 of Exp OTP-CR-198/14/001.”
“Today we denounce before the International Criminal Court the persecution and threat of the Venezuelan-Colombian journalist Orlando Avendaño, whom the regime ordered be arrested for a tweet, a photo with former president Álvaro Uribe and being close to María Corina Machado. The dictatorship’s prosecutor also said that ‘they had located him,’ in a clear threat to his freedom and physical wellbeing because the regime is criminal,” Suju wrote on her X account (Twitter).
#Venezuela. Hoy denunciamos ante la @IntlCrimCourt la persecución y amenaza del Periodista venezolano-colombiano Orlando Avendaño, @OrlvndoA a quien el Régimen ordenó su aprehensión por un tuit,una foto con el ex Presidente @AlvaroUribeVel y ser afín a @MariaCorinaYA . El… pic.twitter.com/VYsowTi6dY
— Tamara Suju (@TAMARA_SUJU) April 3, 2024
The complaint to the ICC comes after the Chavista regime, through its attorney general Tarek William Saab, falsely accused Avendaño on Monday of “instigating hatred” and calling for “insurrection” through a publication on X (Twitter) taken out of context by the Venezuelan authorities.
In his speech, Saab insulted Avendaño and ordered his arrest after accusing him of being linked to former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, a historical critic of Chavismo, and the country’s main opposition leader María Corina Machado.
“Well, this Orlando Avendaño appears next to this guy (…). You have to have truly toxic blood to hang out with that ‘insufferable’ Uribe. Because there are many half-crazed Venezuelans who, in order for them to get attention, take a photo with Uribe. As if that were a war trophy. Well, know that that is in itself, due to how things are presented, the indication that something bad is being planned,” accused Maduro’s attorney general.
“Likewise, in other political messages from the legitimately constituted authorities, they need attention, etc. In this sense, we have appointed the 19th National Prosecutor’s Office to investigate this subject, who is wanted for the crime that he himself expresses in a convicted and confessing manner of instigating hatred,” Saab stated.
The false accusation of Chavismo against the Voz Media journalist comes at a time when the dictatorship is intensifying its repression of political dissent inside and outside Venezuela.
After the arrest warrant was issued, the international community positioned itself unequivocally in favor of Avendaño.
Avendaño also denounced that the Maduro regime sent officials from SEBIN, the dictatorship’s Intelligence service, to his parent’s house in the state of Valencia.
In a video he posted on X, Avendaño stated that SEBIN officials took laptops, cell phones and other electronic equipment from his parent’s residence. He also criticized all the accusations brought against him.
Lo único que yo he hecho, como periodista, es ejercer mi libertad de expresión.
No es un delito. pic.twitter.com/6jYezaRk5H
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) April 1, 2024
