Dr. Ronnie Villasmil
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2019-112-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2019
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 6.42375
Longitude: -66.58973
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Venezuela
- From Region
- Dates of prior UN action
- Unclear
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Type of rights defended
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
had engaged with OHCHR on 14 March 2019 during their visit to the Enrique Tejera Hospital in the state of Carabobo
- Dates of engagement
- 14 March 2019
- Type of attempted engagement
- Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 16 March 2019
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Valencia
- Reprisal information
On 16 March 2019, the house of Dr. Ronnie Villasmil, who had engaged with OHCHR on 14 March 2019 during their visit to the Enrique Tejera Hospital in the state of Carabobo, was searched without a warrant by members of the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas Penales y Criminalísticas (CICIPC). The CICIPC official reportedly left a subpoena to present himself to the police of the state of Carabobo. When asked about the incident, the Government explained that there was a complaint against Dr. Villasmil filed by a staff member of the hospital.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Property damage/raid/search/confiscation
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Which State raised the case at the UN and when?
BENELUX; June 2020 HRC 43 resumed; Item 5? ("Medical personnel, human rights defenders and members of students’ movements in Venezuela who cooperated with OHCHR during its first visit to the country in March 2019.")
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 0