A/HRC/48/28 112. In November 2020, mandate holders provided comments on the 2014 Law No. 7 On Combatting Terrorism Offences (Law 7), noting that the law’s overly broad definitions of terrorist organizations may curtail the legitimate work of human rights defenders, including their ability to engage in international fora (OL ARE 6/2020). 69 30. Venezuela 113. Multiple UN actors addressed allegations of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society organizations that cooperated or were perceived as cooperating with the UN during the reporting period, in particular the targeting of those implementing UN humanitarian assistance programmes. NGOs cooperating with the UN have been labelled “criminals”, “mercenaries”, “thieves”, “terrorists”, and “enemies of the State”, including in UN fora and on Government-affiliated online portals. On 23 and 24 September 2020, experts of the independent international fact-finding mission on Venezuela (FFM) presented its findings to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/45/33) highlighting the need for protection guarantees for those who had provided information to the FFM and their family members, and to ensure that there are no reprisals against them. 70 114. As an illustration, according to information received, the detention conditions of some individuals held at the Directorate General of Military Counter-Intelligence (DGCIM) worsened reportedly due to their cooperation with the UN, including after the inclusion of their cases in the FFM report. In one particular case, two days after the report’s release, navy captain Mr. Luis de la Sotta (A/HRC/45/CRP.1, paras. 760–797) was reportedly moved to a cell measuring 60X60cm x 2.75m, where he was kept for at least 12 hours. The size of the cell forced Ms. de la Sotta to remain standing and he was reportedly handcuffed, had difficulty breathing due to lack of ventilation, and had no access to food, water or sanitation facilities. 115. On 9 November 2020, special procedures mandate holders raised concerns about high-ranking State officials’ public and social media stigmatization of NGOs, which they said appeared to be acts of reprisals for their cooperation with the UN, including the FFM (VEN 10/2020). On 24 September 2020, the online portal Misión Verdad (Mission Truth) released an article titled “Dismantling the report of the ‘Independent Fact-Finding Mission in Venezuela’: the sources.” The article named five NGO sources for the report and two of its directors: Comité de Familiares de Víctimas del Caracazo (COFAVIC); Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS); Centro de Justicia y Paz (CEPAZ); Control Ciudadano (and its director Ms. Rocío San Miguel); and Espacio Público (and its director Mr. Carlos Correa). 116. The article accused the NGOs of “participat[ing] in this compilation of unsupported accusations,” and receiving foreign funding “to destabilize the country”. The article also reportedly featured a photograph of Ms. Liliana Ortega Mendoza, Co-Founder of COFAVIC, whose case was included in the 2019 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/42/30, para. 81 and Annex I, para.115). The information was shared on Twitter by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (VEN 10/2020). Subsequently, Government officials have made similar public remarks against members of civil society, including through institutional media channels and official websites.71 On 6 May 2021, the Government responded to mandate holders, stating that freedom of expression is recognized and protected in Venezuela and that there is open public debate about all topics concerning national affairs in which NGOs are free to participate. In this context, the Government contended that references made by actors in public life cannot be considered as “harassment”. It noted that NGOs, as key actors in the democratic debate, are subject to a higher level of scrutiny and should have higher tolerance to criticism.72 69 70 71 72 A/HRC/40/52, paras. 60, 61, 65. Fact-finding Mission on Venezuela (Cont’d), 19th Meeting, 45th Regular Session Human Rights Counci1, at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1s/k1sv4d3zve (time stamp 01:11:30). A/HRC/47/55, para.57. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=36191. 43