3
12.
They say that the National Assembly appointed a “Special Parliamentary Commission to
investigate the events of April 2002.” In its August 2002 report this Special Commission is said to have
urged that part of the government designated the Poder Ciudadano to investigate and determine the
responsibilities of citizens “who, without being vested with public functions, acted in an active and
coordinated fashion in the conspiracy and coup d’état.” The list of citizens to be investigated apparently
included Allan Brewer Carías “as his participation in the planning and execution of the coup d’état has
been shown.”
2.
Facts related to the judicial proceeding
13.
The petitioners allege that from 2002 to 2005 at least four provisional prosecutors
investigated the facts around the drafting of the “Carmona Decree,” among other facts related to the
events of April 11 to 13, 2002. They note that initially the investigation was entrusted to provisional
prosecutor José Benigno Rojas, who did not file charges. They indicate that he was replaced by
provisional prosecutor Danilo Anderson, who did not file charges either, and who was murdered in
November 2004. Subsequently, Luisa Ortega Díaz, Sixth Provisional Prosecutor of the Public Ministry at
the National Level with Full Jurisdiction (hereinafter also “Sixth Provisional Prosecutor”),5 took over the
investigation and filed a number of charges6. They allege that since then, the pattern of conduct, of both
the Public Ministry and the provisional judges who have had cognizance of the case, has been to attach
value to those aspects of the evidence that may contribute to convicting Allan Brewer Carías and discard
those aspects that show his innocence.
14.
The petitioners allege that during the investigative stage, the defense counsels for Allan
Brewer Carías were unable to obtain a copy of the record; rather, they were only allowed to transcribe, by
hand, the various documents in the record. They allege, therefore, that they were deprived of a
reasonable time and conditions for his defense.7 They argue that during the review of the record, Allan
Brewer Carías found that the texts transcribed in the formal indictment did not match the contents of the
videos considered to be evidence. In view of the foregoing, the provisional prosecutor was asked to
make a specialized technical transcription of the content of all the videos with interviews by journalists
used as evidentiary elements in the indictment. The request was denied on April 21, 2004, on the basis
that “it would contribute nothing to the investigation.”
15.
They also allege that on April 21, 2004, the Sixth Provisional Prosecutor rejected the
testimony of Nelson Mezerhane, Nelson Socorro, Yajaira Andueza, Guaicaipuro Lameda, and Leopoldo
Baptista, offered by the defense, based on them being referential witnesses whose statements lacked
probative value in light of the law in force.
16.
They indicate that on January 27, 2005, the Sixth Provisional Prosecutor filed the
indictment against Allan Brewer Carías for the offense of conspiracy to change the Constitution violently
by drafting the Carmona Decree. They argue that this was based on the allegation of active Army
Colonel Ángel Bellorín, who indicated that it was a well-known fact widely reported by the media that
Allan Brewer Carías, a well-known expert on constitutional matters, was one of the authors of that decree.
17.
They indicate that the proceeding in which the case against Allan Brewer Carías is
included was initially assigned to Josefina Gómez Sosa, Temporary Twenty-Fifth Judge of Control
(hereinafter also “Temporary Twenty-Fifth Judge”). At the request of the Sixth Provisional Prosecutor, the
Temporary Twenty-Fifth Judge issued the order prohibiting several citizens under investigation for their
suspected involvement in the events from leaving the country. That order was appealed to the Tenth
5
They allege that this prosecutor and 10 other prosecutors were assigned all the trials of political dissidents. At present,
Luisa Ortega Díaz is said to be the Attorney General of the Republic.
6
7
They allege that this prosecutor was later replaced by Prosecutor Maria Alejandra Pérez.
The petitioners say that, at present, the trial is before the 25th Court of Control, before which the defense does have
access to the record. Nonetheless, they consider that the lack of access in the investigative phase was an irreparable encumbrance.