A/HRC/51/47 151. The case of judge Ms. Lourdes Afiuni was included in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 reports of the Secretary-General,194 as well as in previous reports since 2010,195 on allegations of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment following a decision passed in her capacity as judge on the basis of a Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opinion (No. 10/2009). Her detention was deemed arbitrary by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in September 2010. According to Special Procedures mandate holders, Ms. Afiuni’s punishment represents an emblematic case that has resulted in generalized fear among the country’s judges to issue rulings against the Government (VEN 11/2020). The Government responded with details about past and ongoing legal proceedings and stated that due process had been guaranteed throughout.196 152. On 16 September 2021, the International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela stated that the arrest and prosecution of Judge Afiuni had resulted in a climate of fear amongst judges and prosecutors, and that many declined to speak to the Mission out of fear of reprisals. 197 In November 2020, the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court resolved to dismiss Ms. Afiuni’s appeal and confirmed her five-year imprisonment sentence issued on 21 March 2019. According to information received by OHCHR, on 17 March 2022, the Third Enforcement Court of Caracas denied Judge Afiuni’s request to leave the country to attend a medical appointment abroad. The court reportedly indicated that she had not taken the psychosocial examinations to opt for an alternative sentence. On 11 April 2022, Judge Afiuni submitted to the examinations and interviews before the Penitentiary Ministry, and she is awaiting the results. OHCHR is monitoring the case and in contact with relevant authorities. 153. The case of Mr. Fernando Albán, a political opposition figure of the Primero Justicia party, was included in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 reports of the Secretary-General198 following his detention and death in custody in August 2018, after returning from New York where he met with different actors on the margins of the General Assembly. 154. The 2021 report of the International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela included the case of Mr. Alban, noting that in May 2021 the Chief Prosecutor reported progress in what he called emblematic cases, including that of Mr. Alban, after having received questions from the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (A/HRC/48/69, para. 102). In this and two other cases, the Mission observed that the scope of investigations was either limited to less serious crimes or only the lowest-level perpetrators face criminal prosecution, or both. According to information received by OHCHR, on 3 December 2021, two agents from the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 5 years and 10 months for manslaughter, breach of custodial regulations, criminal association, and aggravated aiding and abetting of escape in relation to the death of Mr. Albán. On 18 March 2022, during its oral update to the Human Rights Council, 199 the International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela reported that in February 2022, the Tenth Chamber of the Criminal Court of Appeals of Caracas reduced the sentence imposed to the SEBIN’s agents to 2 years and 8 months. The officers were reportedly released. 155. According to information received by OHCHR, during the reporting period several NGOs and their staff included in previous reports have continued to be exposed to on-line attacks and stigmatization from Government-affiliated online portals in connection with or following their cooperation with the UN. The NGOs concerned are Provea, the Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS) and Foro Penal.200 These 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 A/HRC/42/30, para. 82 and Annex II, para. 109 and 146; A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, paras. 139–140; A/HRC/48/28, Annex II, paras. 142–43. A/HRC/33/19, para. 45; A/HRC/30/29, para. 7; A/HRC/27/38, para. 46; A/HRC/14/19, paras. 45–47. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=36139. “Venezuelan justice system plays a significant role in the State’s repression of government opponents”, 16 September 2021, at https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27479&LangID=E. A/HRC/42/30, Annex I, paras. 116–117; A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, para. 141; A/HRC/48/28, Annex II, paras,114–116. https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1c/k1c4g4dvw1 (time stamp 03:45–04:15). A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, para. 119; A/HRC/45/36, para. 121 and Annex II, paras. 137–138; A/HRC/48/28, para. 124 and Annex I, paras. 115–116. 69