A/HRC/48/28 sentence has been fully served. Mandate holders stated that Ms. Afiuni’s punishment represents an emblematic case that reportedly results in a generalized fear among the country’s judges to issue rulings contrary to the Government’s will and reiterated her targeting due to the UN Working Group opinion (VEN 11/2020). On 18 March 2021, the Government responded, providing details on the case, including about past and ongoing legal proceedings, stating that due process had been guaranteed throughout.262 144. The case of Mr. Fernando Albán, a political opposition figure of the Primero Justicia party, was included in the 2020 and 2019 reports of the Secretary-General263 following his detention and death in custody, after returning from New York to meet with different actors on the margins of the General Assembly. As a result of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, on 2 September 2019 two officers of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Services (SEBIN) were indicted for breach of detention protocols. The September 2020 report of the FFM included the case of Mr. Albán, which noted that high-level officials publicly deemed his death a suicide, although forensic evidence raises doubts about this conclusion. The FFM noted that the examination did not apply the standards required by the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) or the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. His family was unable to undertake an independent autopsy or to bury his remains, despite numerous requests (A/HRC/45/33, para. 51). 145. According to information received by OHCHR, on 8 October 2020, the Twenty-Ninth Trial Court of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of Caracas Metropolitan Area nullified the accusations against the two officers on the basis of violations of due process guarantees. Reportedly, the legal counsel of Mr. Albán’s family did not have access to the decision. On 1 May 2021, the Attorney General announced new arrest warrants against the same two SEBIN officers on the charges of manslaughter, breach of detention protocols, and aiding and abetting escape. 146. On 26 August 2021, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report. Concerning the case of Ms. Lourdes Afiuni, the Government contended that the criminal proceedings against Ms. Afiuni cannot be considered as a case of reprisals for allegedly having applied an opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The Government stated that it has been amply demonstrated before the Working Group that at no time did the former judge Ms. Afiuni apply or invoke any decision of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. Regarding the case of Mr. Fernando Albán, the Government informed that the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested an arrest warrant against two SEBIN officers who were guarding him on charges of manslaughter, breach of custody regulations, criminal association, and facilitating the escape of a detainee. The Government stated that this isolated incident is being heard by the competent jurisdictional bodies with all the guarantees of due process and the right to defense. 27. Viet Nam 147. The case of Ms. Dinh Thi Phuong Thao, human rights defender and pro-democracy activist, was included in the 2020 report of the Secretary-General264 on allegations of passport confiscation upon her return to Viet Nam in November 2019 in connection with her engagement with various UN human rights mechanisms. Ms. Thao faced an online campaign, allegedly run by pro-government commentators, attacking her work (VNM 5/2019). On 18 March 2020, the Government responded265 stating that, while entering the country in 2019, Ms. Thao was questioned about activities related to a terrorist group. The Government stated that authorities had neither withdrawn nor confiscated her passport. According to information received by OHCHR, as of May 2021, the passport of Ms. Thao has not been returned, and 262 263 264 265 80 https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=36139. A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, para 141; A/HRC/42/30, Annex I, paras. 116–117. A/HRC/45/36, para. 122, Annex I, paras. 142–143. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=35202.