67 the people, against the Nation, against national independence and against the dignity of the Republic will 316 be tolerated here.” On another occasion the President said the following: “The concession to that 317 fascist channel [RCTV] is finished.” For his part, Minister William Lara, in charge of the Ministry of Communications and Information, made similar remarks, and the Ministry under his control waged an official campaign to justify non-renewal of RCTV’s concession, which maintained that RCTV “served as a stand-in for political actors and manufactured its messages, violated freedom of information, incited civil war and the coup d’état, attempted to undermine the balance of powers, established economic cartels, 318 and engaged in other conduct alien to the social responsibility that the State and society demand of it.” 216. Taking into account the context as described, the Commission will now proceed to examine the proceedings and decisions of the Chambers of the Supreme Court in connection with the seizure of RCTV’s property and broadcasting equipment. The first relevant decision was taken by the Political-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court on May 22, 2007. Having agreed to hear the petition filed by RCTV seeking nullification of the administrative decision not to renew RCTV’s concession and having denied the petition seeking injunctive relief that was filed in conjunction with the nullification petition, the Political-Administrative Chamber added an orbiter dictum suggesting the possibility that the 319 seized free-to-air television broadcasting equipment might revert back to the property of the State. The second decision was adopted by the Constitutional Chamber on May 25, 2007, in which it issued a temporary injunction whereby the use of RCTV’s property was to be temporarily assigned to CONATEL; it 320 also held that CONATEL should decide to use those assets for the TVes. The third decision was also one taken by the Constitutional Chamber on May 25, 2007. In response to a petition asking that the necessary injunctive relief be ordered to ensure that RCTV’s broadcasting would not be interrupted after 321 May 27, 2007, the Constitutional Chamber ordered injunctive relief and again assigned to CONATEL 322 the rights to use RCTV’s equipment. As previously mentioned, the Constitutional Chamber’s ruling on RCTV’s objection to the injunction is still pending. 217. The Commission considers that these proceedings and decisions, when analyzed as a whole and in the context described earlier, reveal that the Supreme Court is using proceedings that are lawful from the purely procedural standpoint, to accomplish the end of the executive branch. These constituted an abuse of power the purpose of which is to ensure that the government’s goal of replacing an independent, private station that is critical of the government -RCTV- with a public television channel controlled by the government, is achieved. The Supreme Court is accomplishing this end by assigning use of RCTV’s broadcasting infrastructure to the TVes. Two of the three proceedings mentioned above, 316 Annex 26, Speech delivered by President Chávez on December 28, 2006. Communication from the petitioners received on March 1, 2010, Attachment B.5; Annex 35, Aporrea, article titled Presidente Chávez: ‘a RCTV que vayan apagando los equipos’ [President Chávez to RCTV: ‘Start packing your bags’], December 28, 2006. Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 38; Annex 36, Globovisión, report titled Presidente Chávez anuncia que no renovará concesión de RCTV [President Chávez announces that RCTV’s concession will not be renewed], December 28, 2006.. Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 38. 317 Annex 26, Address by President Chávez, Janjuary 10, 2007, Communication from the petitioners received on March 1, 2010, Attachment B.8; Annex 43, Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, news report titled Presentación del Mensaje anual del presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, ante la Asamblea Nacional [President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, delivers his Annual Address to the National Assembly], Federal Legislative Palace, January 13, 2007. Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 41. 318 Annex 47, MINCI, Libro Blanco sobre RCTV [White Book on RCTV]. Venezuela: March 2007, First Edition. Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 47, p. 12. 319 Annex 77, Supreme Court, Political-Administrative Chamber, Case No. 07-0411, Decision of May 22, 2007, Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 111. 320 Annex 64, Supreme Court, Constitutional Chamber, Case No. 07-0720, Decision No. 956 of May 25, 2007, Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 78. 321 Annex 65, Supreme Court, Constitutional Chamber, Case No. 07-0731, Decision No. 957, of May 25, 2007, Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 78. 322 Annex 65, Supreme Court, Constitutional Chamber, Case No. 07-0731, Decision No. 957, of May 25, 2007, Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Attachment 78.