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RED VZLA Urgent Request to the OTP-3

REDACTED Page 98 of 190 violated because he was not able to present any witnesses or evidence,” Mr. Nieves said. 398 He provided information on the control of the Presidency over the Office of the General Prosecutor and the judidiciary stating that: “Prosecutors and judges fear that if anyone dissents from carrying out an order, he will be detained, or a criminal case will be invented against him and he will be jailed.” 399 He said dozens of Venezuelan security officials milled around outside the courtroom doors during every one of Mr. López’s trial sessions, serving to intimidate judicial personnel into not defying orders. Nieves said that judges and prosecutors were pressured to convict political opponents of the regime by their superiors, who would give them their orders verbally in frequent meetings. In Caracas, Ortega Diaz personally defended the trial400 and denied that Mr. Nieves was pressured and said the prosecutor was fired in recent days “because he abandoned his position.” “He ceded to the pressures of foreign factors and sectors of the country, not the General Prosecutor’s Office,” she said. “The prosecutor’s office doesn’t pressure anyone.” 401 These facts, in addition to the surrounding circumstances, clearly point to a Presidency which is using its influence over the Office of Public Prosecutions, to prevent, restrict, monitor and punish dissent to maintain power by prosecuting or threatening to prosecute individuals disagreeing or criticizing the regime with false, abusive and malicious charges. (5)De facto control of the Presidency over the Judiciary The Judiciary, which is responsible for the administration of justice, hearing cases and other matters falling under its jurisdiction, is in theory functionally, financially and administratively independent.402 The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Tribunal Supremo 398 WALL STREET JOURNAL. [2015] [Online] 26 October 2015. Available from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-prosecutor-franklin-nieves-says-opposition-leaders-trial-was-a- sham-1445895707. [Accessed on 4 November 2015] 399 WALL STREET JOURNAL. [2015] [Online] 26 October 2015. Available from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-prosecutor-franklin-nieves-says-opposition-leaders-trial-was-a- sham-1445895707. [Accessed on 4 November 2015] 400 MUNDO24. [2014] Luisa Ortega Díaz asegura que “no hay retardo procesal en caso de Leopoldo López.” MUNDO24. [Online] 6 November. Available from: http://www.mundo24.net/luisa-ortega-diaz- asegura-que-hay-retardo-procesal-en-caso-de-leopoldo-López/ [Accessed 25 October, 2015]; ULTIMAS NOTICIAS. (2015) Ortega Díaz se reunió con cancilleres de Unasur. Ultimas Noticias. [Online] 6 March. Available from: http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/ortega-diaz-se-reunio- con-cancilleres-de-unasur.aspx [Accessed 25 October, 2015] 401 WALL STREET JOURNAL. [2015] [Online] 26 October 2015. Available from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-prosecutor-franklin-nieves-says-opposition-leaders-trial-was-a- sham-1445895707. [Accessed on 4 November 2015] 402 VENEZUELA. Constitution of Venezuela. Article 254

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