Rafael Lacava, governor of the state of Carabobo, sued the priest of La Vega, Jesuit Father Alfredo Infante, for defamation, as well as Marino Alvarado of the Venezuelan Program for Human Rights Action Education (Provea).
The situation occurred following last week, during the presentation of Provea’s annual report, execution data was shown arbitrary by the police forces, where the state of Carabobo appears with the highest rates.
Likewise, following presenting the report, human rights defenders asked the Venezuelan authorities to investigate the alleged perpetrators. Among them the superiors of the state police, such as Governor Lacava.
Lacava rejected these data, filing a criminal lawsuit for Aggravated Defamation Continued provided for in article 442 of the Penal Code.
“Rafael Lacava, Governor of Carabobo, sues for ‘defamation’ the legal coordinator of Provea (Venezuelan Program for Education Action on Human Rights), Marino Alvarado, and Father Alfredo Infante (Human Rights coordinator of the Gumilla Center), following demand an investigation of Lacava for alleged responsibility in reports of extrajudicial executions,” reported the NGO Provea on its Twitter account.
The message was accompanied by a video in which Alvarado, one of the defendants, indicated that the notification was received today by a criminal court in Carabobo, indicates EFE.
“Supposedly, we have defamed him because we have demanded that the alleged responsibility that the governor may have with the extrajudicial executions that have occurred in Carabobo state be investigated,” Alvarado said.
He pointed out that this lawsuit is “the consequence” of being demanding in terms of human rights and raising their voices for the victims of these events.
In this regard, he insisted that “it seems that there is a State policy of not investigating those who may have the greatest responsibility” in violations of fundamental guarantees and rejected that they are accusing Lacava of any act.
