CARACAS (Reuters) – The Venezuelan government on Saturday rejected a decision by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to resume an investigation into alleged human rights abuses by officials in the South American country.
On Tuesday, ICC prosecutor Karim Kham requested permission to continue the investigation after receiving “a significant amount of information provided by Venezuela to date, as well as other credible sources”.
But the Venezuelan government pushed back.
In a statement, he called Kham’s view “prejudicial” and pledged to “stand for the truth and demonstrate the productive work of the authorities in investigating all complaints of serious crimes against persons” in the preliminary chamber.
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“It is particularly worrying that the ICC prosecutor’s request is essentially based on secondary sources devoid of any credibility,” the government said in a statement posted on the official Foreign Ministry Twitter account.
She also accused the investigation of “marked bias and manifest politicization, to the detriment of the rigor expected of an international body”.
The ICC opened a preliminary investigation in 2018; Khan said in March that he would open an office in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
(Reporting by Mayela Armas; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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