Venezuela: Fears of illtreatment of people detained by Army

                          Case VEN 050299

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT 
intervention regarding the following situation in Venezuela.

Brief Description of the Situation

The International Secretariat has been informed by the "Red de Apoyo 
por la Justicia y la Paz", member of the OMCT network, of the grave 
concern for six persons held in detention in the State of Apure.

According to the information, the following persons, arrested between 
the 27 and the 29 of January 1999, are held in detention at the frontier in 
the "Battlefield number 1" ( Teatro de operaciones número 1), in the 
Apure State and it is feared that they may be victims of ill-treatment.  

Mr. Juan Bautista Moreno, Mr. Edgar Carvajal, Mr. Oscar Caceres, Mr. 
Wilfredo Bracho and Mr. Asdrubal Lozada were arrested by members of 
the Technical Judicial Police (Policía Tecnica Judicial -PTJ), of the 
Direction of Intelligence and Prevention Services (Dirección de Servicios 
de Inteligencia y Prevención -DISIP) and the Army and taken to the 
"Battlefield number 1" headquarters, in  Guasdualito, were they remain 
under detention.  It seems their detention is related to the inquiries of a 
kidnapping, occurred in December 1998.

On February 1st 1999, their families were allowed to see them in the 
presence of the military.  However, they were denied permission to speak 
to them.

On the 29th of February 1999, Mr. Guismoldo Eregua, Mr. Santiago Diaz 
and Mr. Morli Ratia were also arrested in connection with the same 
offense and subsequently released.  According to the "Red de Apoyo 
por la Justicia y la Paz", while in detention they were beaten with rifle 
butts, verbally abused, blindfolded and handcuffed.

Due to the above mentioned facts, the International Secretariat fears for 
the physical and psychological integrity of the persons currently 
detained.


                         Case VEN 050299.CC
                           CHILD CONCERN

The minor Claudio Rivas Espinosa, aged 16, farmer, resident of Guafitas, 
Caño Fístola, El Amparo Parish, was arrested in connection with the 
same offense, on the 29th of January 1999 and is also being held in 
detention at the frontier in "the Battlefield number 1".  He was kept 
incomunicado until the 30th  of January 1999, when his relatives visited 
him but were not allowed to speak to him.

The International Secretariat fears for the physical and psychological 
integrity of the minor.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities of Venezuela urging them to

i.  take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and 
    psychological integrity of Mr. Juan Bautista Moreno, Mr. 
    Edgar Carvajal, Mr. Oscar Caceres, Mr. Wilfredo Bracho and 
    Mr. Asdrubal Lozada  and the minor Claudio Rivas Espinosa 
    held in detention and order their immediate release in the 
    absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring 
    them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee 
    their procedural rights in all times;

ii. carry out a full and impartial investigation into the alleged ill-
    treatment of Mr. Guismoldo Eregua, Mr. Santiago Diaz and Mr. 
    Morli Ratia, and any ill-treatment of the other detained persons, 
    in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and 
    apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided 
    by law;

iii.guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental 
    freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national 
    laws and international human rights standards, in particular 
    those established in the Conventions against Torture and the 
    Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Venezuela. 

Addresses

Dr. Ivan Darío Badell González, Fiscal General de la Republica, Manduca 
a Ferrenquin 
La Candelaria, Caracas, Venezuela
TelegramasFiscal General, Caracas, Venezuela
Fax+58 2 577 2144 

General de División, Raul Salazar, Ministro de la Defensa, Fuerte Tiuna, 
Conejo Blanco
El Valle, Caracas, Fax+58 2 662 4078

Dr. Carlos Ponce, Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos 
Humanos, Palacio de Miraflores, Edificio  Bicentenario, Nivel Plaza, of 
206 Fax +582 801 39 42

Congreso de la República de Venezuela,  Sr. Presidente de la Comisión de 
Política Interior
SubComisión de Derechos Humanos, Cámara de Diputados, Fax +58 2 
5648250  / 5645157 / 5637273

Geneva, 5 February 1999

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.