ORDER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF MARCH 2, 2011 PROVISIONAL MEASURES REGARDING VENEZUELA MATTER OF MARÍA LOURDES AFIUNI HAVING SEEN: 1. The brief of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) of November 30, 2010, and appendixes, whereby it submitted a request for provisional measures to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Court,” “the Court” or “the Tribunal”), pursuant to Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the Convention”) and Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”), for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereinafter “the State” or “Venezuela”) to protect the life and personal integrity of Ms. María Lourdes Afiuni (hereinafter “Judge Afiuni”, “Ms. Afiuni” or “the beneficiary”). During the Commission’s 140th period of sessions, the representatives asked that the situation be elevated to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court, pointing to Ms. Afiuni’s situation of potential risk. Thus, in a communication dated October 24, 2010, the petitioners submitted information on the health of Judge Afiuni and the alleged deficient detention conditions and reiterated the information on risk due to threats from other inmates whom the judge presumably convicted during the exercise of her functions. 2. The background presented by the Commission related with the request for provisional measures, namely: a) In December 2009 Ms. Afiuni was, in her position as Judge, in charge, of the 31st Court of First Instance of Control Functions of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of the Metropolitan Area of Caracas. On December 11, 2009, Judge Afiuni was charged with the crimes of corruption, abuse of authority, complicity in a prison escape and conspiracy to commit crime based on the fact that as the judge of that court, she