IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Grants Precautionary Measures in Favor of Relatives of Journalist Roberto Deniz de Armando in Venezuela
February 7, 2020
Washington, D.C. - On February 5, 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 14/2020 (link in Spanish), through which it granted precautionary measures in favor of the relatives of journalist Roberto Deniz in Venezuela, whom it deems to be at serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their human rights.
In reaching its decision, the IACHR took into account the fact that the risk Mr. Deniz’s family is currently exposed to is intrinsically linked to the work he has been engaging in on the Armando.Info website since 2014. In this sense, his family is vulnerable to reprisals at any time given Mr. Deniz’s ongoing investigations into corruption; the fact that these are very high-profile investigations that involve the government of Nicolás Maduro and congresspeople who have close ties with him, at a time at which the country is deeply divided; the fact that stigmatizing statements continue to be made against Mr. Deniz; the actions that SEBIN took in response to his most recent publication on corruption; and the lack of information on measures to protect his family or investigations to clarify the alleged events.
Consequently, in accordance with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR requested that the state of Venezuela take the necessary steps toward guaranteeing the rights to life and personal integrity of the relatives of Mr. Roberto Deniz Machin; that it determine the measures to be adopted in consultation with the beneficiaries and their representative; and that it report on the actions it takes to investigate the allegations that led to the adoption of this precautionary measure so as to prevent them from being repeated.
The fact that this precautionary measure has been granted and its adoption by the state does not entail a prejudgment on any petition that may eventually be filed before the inter-American system to allege that the rights protected by all applicable instruments have been violated.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States whose principal functions are to promote the observance and defense of human rights and to serve as an advisory body to the Organization in this area. The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 031/20