Sierra was \r\narrested on Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 5:30 PM, when he was leaving a restaurant \r\nin Altamira, east of Caracas, with several friends, where they were celebrating \r\nthe birthday of a friend. A few meters from the premises, they were intercepted \r\nby four SUVs. Several armed men, dressed in civilian clothes and without \r\nidentification get off the SUVs. One of them pointed at Alexander Sierra in the \r\nchest. He dropped his bag on the floor, where he kept his chef's shirt, his cell \r\nphone, headphones and personal items, and held his hands \r\nup.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
He was not \r\ncarrying pipe bombs, rockets or gunpowder, his lawyers say. He was not arrested \r\nduring a \"Tun Tun Operation,\" as suggested in the televised video, a raid-type \r\noperation named like that by Cabello, carried out during anti-government \r\nprotests in order to \"search for terrorists\" at their own \r\nhomes.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
Sierra was \r\nmissing for 46 hours until he was found on Monday, June 26, in the afternoon, at \r\nthe Helicoide, one of the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence \r\nService (Sebin), the Venezuelan political police. On the eve, the officials at \r\nthe entrance of the tenebrous building always denied that he was there. That is \r\nanother reason why its defenders and relatives say that Sierra\u2019s case follows \r\nthe pattern of other famous cases of political prisoners: an arbitrary \r\ndetention, which did not follow judicial procedures. A clear example of forced \r\ndisappearance, considered a crime under international law.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
In those \r\nhours of uncertainty, Alexander Sierra was repeatedly beaten to force him to \r\ngive names and give false testimony. The result of those beatings and others \r\nthat followed is a dislocated shoulder and a fracture in one hand for remaining \r\nthree days hanging from a \r\ntube.<\/p>\n\n\n \"My son was \r\nnot killed because he is an artist and many people know him. The news that the \r\nSebin had taken him and was missing spread in the social media,\" says his \r\nmother, Nancy Sierra. She always refers to Alexander as \"L\u00edryko,\" his actual \r\nnickname, derived from his role as a rapper, which he combines with his \r\nprofession as a chef and theater actor. The 23-year-old also has an associate\u2019s \r\ndegree in Graphic Design and was studying English when he was \r\narrested.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n \"L\u00edryko\" \r\nwas presented on June 27 before the military courts for allegedly attacking a \r\nmilitary base, owning military garments in his backpack along with pipe bombs, \r\nrockets and gunpowder, being a terrorist, a \"financier of the guarimbas\" (street \r\nbarricades) and a \u201cPrimero Justicia\u201d activist. \"All that was completely false, \r\nnone of us is a member of any political party. He did not cause such damage, and \r\nthat day, he was not marching. He was wearing his 'I am a Liberator' t-shirt and \r\nhad gone to several marches. We do not agree with the regime that they want to \r\nimpose, and we did not only go to the marches this year, we also went to the \r\nmarches before,\" says his \r\nmother.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t His \r\nattorney, Elenis Rodr\u00edguez, took the case as part of the non-governmental \r\norganization Fundeci and managed to prove that he could not be charged for those \r\naccusations. On the day of the preliminary hearing in military courts (scheduled \r\nfor August 9), Alexander Sierra's file only included disturbing peace and \r\nresisting arrest charges, but that day, his attorney could not represent him. \r\nElenis Rodr\u00edguez was sworn on July 21, together with 32 other lawyers as judge \r\nof the Supreme Court of Justice, by the National Assembly, in one of the last \r\nactions of the Venezuelan parliament to try to stop the election of the \r\nso-called National Constituent Assembly. Eight days after, Rodr\u00edguez asked for \r\nasylum from the Chilean embassy in Caracas to avoid being judged for \"treason \r\nagainst the fatherland and usurpation.\"<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Lawyer \r\nAlejandra Tosta took over the case of Alexander Sierra since Rodr\u00edguez was \r\nnominated as a judge. On August 9, she managed to get the military judge to \r\nagree to send the file to an ordinary court. But since then, the case seems to \r\nbe in lethargy. The file took three months to reach civil jurisdiction. Nancy's \r\ninsistence materialized only on November 8. She could not expedite a simple \r\ntransfer of a folder from Fuerte Tiuna to the Palace of Justice, a 12-kilometer \r\njourney that can take no more than 30 minutes on a motorcycle. \"A court official \r\ntold me that the Plan Rep\u00fablica (Republic Plan) had not been able to take the \r\nfile. What does Plan Rep\u00fablica have to do with a file?\" Nancy asks herself about \r\nwhat seems to be nonsense. Was the military operation that protects the \r\nelections in Venezuela, according to that employee, responsible for the judicial \r\ndelay?<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Alexander \r\nSierra is one of those political prisoners who fell into oblivion. They are just \r\none more name in a list that gets shorter and longer based on the needs of the \r\nBolivarian regime. They do not capture the attention of the media and as time \r\npasses, no one remembers them.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n A few weeks \r\nafter his arrest, another young man who looks alike was taken to Helicoide for \r\nthe same reason (attack on La Carlota military air base). Alexander Sierra\u2019s \r\nmother and attorneys agree that he was arbitrarily detained because he looks \r\nlike someone suspected of attacking a military installation and is dark, with \r\ncurly Afro-type hair, and has one of his arms tattooed almost completely. He has \r\nbeen in the Sebin for six months. It is said that the other young man, with \r\nsimilar characteristics for his hair and tattoos, who was the person the \r\nauthorities were looking for, was sent the El Dorado prison, in the state of \r\nBol\u00edvar, in the south of the country. Alexander\u2019s arrest was a mistake, the \r\nmother suspects.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n The \r\nopportunity to be free before Christmas vanished the week of December 15. On \r\nTuesday 12, they informed Alexander that he would be transferred to the Palace \r\nof Justice for his second hearing. It never happened. A senior official informed \r\ndetainees that Sebin had suspended transfers to courts until \r\nFebruary.<\/p>\n\n\n From the \r\nprotests of 2014 to December 15, 2017, the Venezuelan Penal Forum organization \r\nhas counted 12,007 political prisoners, 4,609 of which have received full \r\nfreedom while the other 61.6% remain criminalized \u2014274 are incarcerated and \r\n7,124 have been released with precautionary measures.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n This list \r\nof people who continue behind bars includes all those who meet the criteria that \r\nclassifies a detainee as a political prisoner \u2014based on parameters and \r\ndefinitions internationally validated by the OAS, the European Parliament and \r\nthe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights\u2014 whether they are defended \r\nby Criminal Forum lawyers or not, says its director, Gonzalo \r\nHimiob.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n According \r\nto this organization, there are three categories to identify a political \r\nprisoner: Himiob \r\nclarifies that when the Criminal Forum does not take the defense of a political \r\nprisoner it can happen that they cannot handle the information on that \r\nparticular case, and therefore, do not include it in the list they manage. \"Not \r\nbecause we do not want to, but because we do not have information at hand,\" he \r\nadds.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Therefore, \r\nthere may be more detainees for political reasons than those indicated by this \r\norganization, several of them unknown or relegated, and in some cases, \r\nidentified by human rights organizations. The cases of Magaly, Leybis, H\u00e9ctor, \r\nYeison and Alexander are an \r\nexample.<\/p>\n\n\n Magaly \r\nIzarra is the only pediatrician in the town of Santo Domingo, in the state of \r\nM\u00e9rida (Venezuelan Andes, west of the country). Leybis Uzc\u00e1tegui is a teacher \r\nwith a postgraduate degree in Educational Management and coordinator of the only \r\nhigh school in that town. Both were held for 60 days in the dungeons of the \r\nscientific police (Cicpc) of the state, and another 30 days in the Penitentiary \r\nCenter of Los Andes without having the preliminary hearing that they are \r\nentitled to by law, without having gone to trial and without receiving any \r\nsentence.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Both were \r\narrested after a complaint filed by the mayor of Santo Domingo, Idania Quintero, \r\nof the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, for participating in a protest in \r\nthe town against the National Constituent Assembly (ANC). They were charged with \r\nseven crimes: obstruction of public road, association to commit a crime, \r\ninstigation of hatred, slight injuries to people in the community, injuries and \r\nrobbery to the sentry (military officer), and terrorist \r\nfinancing.<\/p>\n\n\n On July 21, \r\nthe doctor and the teacher participated, along with several people, in a \r\npeaceful protest that even had police protection. For minutes, they stood in the \r\nmiddle of the road with placards against the elections of the ANC, and then \r\nreturned to the sidewalk.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n There were \r\nno more than 20 people; there were no confrontations until Mayor Quintero \r\nappeared with about 50 people. The witnesses say that they took away their \r\nbanners and whistles with a hostile attitude, threw stones at them and ran them \r\nout of the place. At least two of the members of the official delegation were \r\narmed. They even asked the police who were in charge of the protest to take \r\neveryone into custody, but the official did not comply with the order, recalls \r\nOmar Cardona, a relative of the doctor and the teacher.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n In the \r\nmidst of the struggles, one of the mayor's companions wounded a 21-year-old \r\nyoung man in the lower back with a knife. Magaly Izarra helped him while they \r\nwaited to transfer him to the hospital. The rest of the protesters ran to a \r\nnearby house to take refuge from the attacks. Once inside, the people \r\naccompanying the mayor, who are part of the colectivos<\/I>, the clash forces \r\nof the chavista<\/I> regime, began to throw stones at the house and detonate \r\nmortars.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n What \r\nhappened next was almost an uprising of the people of Santo Domingo. When the \r\ninformation of what was happening spread, around 200 people came out to defend \r\nthe demonstrators and managed to get the group led by the mayor to retreat to \r\nthe mayor's office. Hence, the people who were inside the house were able to \r\nleave, including Leybis, who went home.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n People \r\ngathered in front of the mayor's office to protest for what had happened. \r\nSomeone called the National Guard to help them. Suddenly, several officers \r\nappeared on the scene, aggressive, but not very well equipped, according to \r\nwitnesses. As soon as the repression began, they ran out of ammunition and \r\nvehicles. The crowd chased the guard and captured one of them and beat him hard, \r\nstripped him and let him go. The confrontation ceased. Neither Magaly (56 years \r\nold) nor Leybis (52 years old) were in the events that took place in front of \r\nthe Mayor's office or in the beating of the guard. Magaly accompanied the young \r\nman to the hospital in M\u00e9rida, 2 hours from Santo Domingo, because he was badly \r\ninjured.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n A month \r\nafter these events, the Corp for Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations \r\n(CICPC), raided the homes of some of the protesters and served notices. Magaly \r\nand Leybis were in the group and traveled to M\u00e9rida to complete the process. \r\nThey have been arrested since \r\nthen.<\/p>\n\n\n In \r\nmid-October, they were transferred to the Penitentiary Center of Los Andes. They \r\nwere received at the prison with blows and savage aggressions, to the point that \r\nthey asked their daughters and relatives not to visit them. Both were identified \r\nby the mayor of Santo Domingo as aggressors of the National Guard, along with \r\nthe other men arrested, even though the victim herself declared that they did \r\nnot participate in his beating.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n The \r\nfamilies of Leybis and de Magaly chose a private lawyer to defend them. At the \r\nend of November, they left the penitentiary center but with precautionary \r\nmeasures; release on monthly recognizance and prohibition to leave the state of \r\nM\u00e9rida. They are still waiting for the trial because it was postponed until \r\nApril 20, 2018. Meanwhile, the doctor tries to resume her activities after the \r\ntown of Santo Domingo had no pediatrician for four months.<\/p>\n\n\n In February \r\n2014, when the first protests against President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro occurred, there \r\nwere two deaths in the state of Lara (center-west of Venezuela). H\u00e9ctor Cusati \r\nMart\u00ednez was identified as responsible for the death of Alexis Mart\u00ednez (58 \r\nyears old), brother of the then Psuv Deputy to the National Assembly, Francisco \r\nMart\u00ednez.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Alexis \r\nMart\u00ednez died on Hern\u00e1n Garmendia Avenue in Barquisimeto, capital of the \r\nprovince, when he was shot in the chest while removing debris and barricades \r\nthat were placed on the road by demonstrators. I was not alone. Alexis Martinez \r\narrived to that avenue along with other people that the protesters identified as \r\ncolectivos<\/I>, just after some tanks of the National Guard came to end the \r\nprotest of the neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n \"As the man \r\nwho died was from the Government, they came looking for a culprit,\" says Amada \r\nMart\u00ednez, mother of H\u00e9ctor Cusati, three years after the \r\nevent.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n H\u00e9ctor \r\nCusati was a private escort and had a legal firearm bearing. Based on the \r\ninvestigations of the scientific police, the bullet that killed Martinez matched \r\nthe shells of Cusati\u2019s gun. Saved for that coincidence, it could not be proved \r\nin the course of the investigations that H\u00e9ctor Cusati fired his gun against \r\nMart\u00ednez. His file is flawed, reiterates his mother. \"One person, a cooperating \r\npatriot, incriminated him,\" she adds. That figure of informer -not provided for \r\nin the Venezuelan laws- began to be used by the Government in 2014. It is an \r\nunidentified person who denounces someone and does not have to appear in court \r\nto give statement.<\/p>\n\n The expert \r\nexamination in the apartment of H\u00e9ctor Cusati, who lived on an 11th floor with \r\nhis wife, his 8-year-old daughter and his 61-year-old mother, turned out \r\nnegative. No gunpowder was found in the apartment, which dismantled the version \r\nhe had fired from the balcony of his home, a fact that was also ruled out by the \r\ndistance between the apartment on an 11th floor and the place where the brother \r\nof the Psuv deputy fell. The police finally determined that the shot came from \r\n80 centimeters away from Mart\u00ednez. H\u00e9ctor Cusati was not on the street when that \r\nhappened, but on the fifteenth floor of his building looking for his daughter in \r\na neighbor's apartment. Her grandmother had left her there to protect her from \r\nthe tear gas that the National Guard was throwing.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Thirty-six \r\npeople testified against H\u00e9ctor Cusati. There were contradictions in most of the \r\ntestimonies, his mother says. It could not be verified that H\u00e9ctor Cusati was \r\nfiring near where the brother of the deputy of the government party was shot. At \r\nthe trial, the possibility that Cusati lend his weapon to another person arose, \r\nbut that version could not be proven.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n This case \r\nwas taken from the beginning by a private lawyer who recommended the family not \r\nto give statements to the media. He even suggested his client to plead guilty \r\nand admit the facts so that his sentence would be reduced. H\u00e9ctor Cusati did not \r\naccept. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison and has been held in the Uribana \r\nprison for three years. In order to pay the attorney's fees, the family had to \r\nsell the apartment where they lived.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Several \r\nhuman rights defenders identify a pattern that connects the cases of people \r\nprosecuted for the protests that took place in 2014 and 2017. \"There are private \r\nlawyers who neglect legal defense. There is no continuity, or they convince \r\ntheir representatives to plead guilty so that they receive an express sentence \r\nto be released from the responsibility of a litigation that could extend for 4 \r\nor 5 years,\" explains Andr\u00e9s Colmenares, Funpaz (Strength, Union, Justice, \r\nSolidarity and Peace civil association) general \r\ncoordinator.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n Gonzalo \r\nHimiob recalls the case of V\u00edctor Ugas, who pleaded guilty to be free of the \r\npressure quickly. They gave him a release card, but they have not released him \r\nyet. \"When a court forces you to plead guilty is to show that nobody is in \r\nprison for political events. However, the side effect is that the authority does \r\nnot honor its word and does not release you.\"<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n H\u00e9ctor's \r\ncase is in the appeal phase, now without the assistance of private lawyers. \r\nAmada does not know if her son is on the list of political prisoners managed by \r\nthe Criminal Forum, but wants them to include him. On March 6, 2014, when H\u00e9ctor \r\nwas arrested, hours later, President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro referred to him on national \r\ntelevision. \"This boy, H\u00e9ctor Dom\u00e9nico, why did he become a homicide at 20 years \r\nold? Oh, because of the hate speech.\" Maduro not only made a mistake when \r\ncalculating H\u00e9ctor Cusati's age. He also said that he had confessed a crime. It \r\nwas a lie.<\/p>\n\n\n There are \r\nseveral political prisoners in Sebin who are indigent. Little is known about \r\nthem. There are also cases like that of Yeison Rodr\u00edguez, a 20-year-old boy who \r\nwas selling water in the protests that took place in Caracas between April and \r\nJuly, who was arrested for knowing a group of protesters who used to face the \r\nNational Guard with shields and helmets, known as \"The \r\nResistance\".<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n His \r\ndetention occurred on June 10 in Guarenas, after leaving the funeral of Neomar \r\nLander, the 17-year-old teenager who died by the impact of a tear gas bomb on \r\nhis chest. Four men got out of an Aveo (car model), approached him and forced \r\nhim into the car under threat. They took him to the Helicoide. The director of \r\nthe Sebin, Gustavo Gonz\u00e1lez L\u00f3pez, was in charge of spreading information about \r\nYeison\u2019s detention through his account on Twitter. He was marked as one of the \r\n\"organizers and executors of terrorist actions in \r\nCaracas.\"<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/armando.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/21122017-1.jpg\")
Political Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n
(a) when it is a political or social leader who is arrested or \r\nconvicted for individually representing a political threat to the Government; \r\n(b) when the person is part of a social group target of intimidation (human \r\nrights defenders, communicators, judges, military, social and political \r\nactivists, students); and (c) people who are used by the government to sustain a \r\ncampaign or a specific political narrative of power, with respect to certain \r\nsituations of national importance (they are not political or social leaders, nor \r\ndo they represent a key group). The most forgotten would be in this last \r\ncategory, those who end up abandoned by the attorneys, the system, their family \r\nor the society.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\nNo Pediatrician or Teacher<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Twenty-seven years<\/h2>\n\n\n
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<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cMedia\u201d Profile<\/h2>\n\n\n