Prosecutor Saab: ICC seeks to exploit international criminal justice for political ends

Published at: 01/03/2024 06:58 PM

The Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, representing the Public Ministry (MP), expressed his rejection of the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which insists on the path of instrumentalizing international criminal justice for political purposes.

The statement was made by Saab, at a press conference held at the headquarters of the MP, where he stated that “today we want to establish a firm and firm position in the face of the decision of the International Criminal Court to dismiss Venezuela's appeal against the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber in the matter called Case Venezuela I”.

In that direction, he stated that the strategy of accusing Venezuela in the ICC “was coordinated between Luis Almagro and the Lima Group to achieve what they have not achieved in other ways.”

“To support this case, an entire arsenal of media, social networks, organizations and public figures has been used to build a parallel reality,” he said.

In this scenario, Saab reiterated that crimes against humanity have not been committed in Venezuela, and that the MP, together with the auxiliary organs of justice, has investigated and continues to investigate every case of alleged human rights violations that it has become aware of.

“As we have explained in previous cases, Lawfare can be translated as judicial persecution, legal war or judicial war,” he said.

He explained that this mechanism “refers to the abusive or illegal use of national and international judicial bodies, maintaining an appearance of legality to disable or provoke repudiation against an opponent”.

“The lawfare used against Venezuela has resorted to unilateral coercive measures, applied mainly by the United States, the kidnapping of assets and economic resources in international banks,” he emphasized.

The prosecutor argued that other lawfares are the lawsuits of foreign companies against the Republic, and on the other hand, in the complaint against the Venezuelan State for alleged crimes against humanity.

“This is the pseudo legal route that complements the permanent conspiracy against Venezuelan State authorities; which includes attempted coups and assassinations, military uprisings, espionage, mercenary incursions, terrorist acts, among others,” he said.

He stressed that while the ICC speaks out against Venezuela, “the world watches in horror as the holocaust of the 21st century is being carried out, in full view of all, in the Gaza Strip, without pronouncements commensurate with such crimes by the ICC prosecutor.”