REPORT Nº 7/04
PETITION 487/03
ADMISSIBILITY
GABRIELA PEROZO, ALOYS MARÍN, OSCAR DÁVILA PÉREZ ET AL.
VENEZUELA 1
February 27, 2004
I.
SUMMARY
1. On June 22, 2003, Gabriela Perozo, Aloys Marín, Efraín Hernríquez, Oscar Dávila Pérez,
Yesenia Thais Balza Bolívar, Carlos Quintero, Felipe Antonio Lugo Durán, Alfredo José Peña
Isaya, Beatriz Adrián, Jorge Manuel Paz Paz, Mayela León Rodríguez, Richard Alexis López
Valle, Felix José Padilla Geromes, John Power, Miguel Angel Calzadilla, José Domingo Blanco,
Jhonny Donato Ficarella Martín, Norberto Mazza, Gladys Rodríguez, María Arenas, José Vicente
Antonetti Moreno, Orlando Urdaneta, Edgar Hernández, Claudia Rojas Zea, José Natera,
Aymara Anahi Lorenzo Ferrigni, Carlos Arroyo, Ana Karina Villalba, Wilmer Escalona Arnal,
Carla María Angola Rodríguez, and José Iniciarte, all employees of the Venezuelan television
stationGlobovisión, as well as Guillermo Zuloaga Núñez and Alberto Federico Ravell,
shareholders and members of the board of directors of Globovisión, (hereinafter "the
Petitioners") filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging
that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereinafter "the State") had violated their rights to
freedom of expression, personal integrity, a fair trial, and judicial protection under Articles 13,
5, 8, and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights, respectively. The Petitioners
further allege that the State has violated its general obligations to respect and guarantee these
rights under Articles 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention.
2. The Petitioners allege that, since 2001, the journalists and staff of Globovisión, particularly
those journalists who cover events outside of the station and the support staff that accompany
them, as well as the shareholders and directors identified in the petition as Petitioners, have
been subjected to an ongoing and escalating campaign of harassment and aggression. The
Petitioners further allege that the property of Globovisión has also been subjected to damage
by these same aggressors. The Petitioners claim that many of these aggressors are members
of "Bolivarian Circles," groups of citizens that act at the behest of the government and that are
funded and protected by the government. They further claim that the State has failed to
undertake a serious investigation of these incidents in order to identify and sanction the
perpetrators.
3. As of the date of this report, the State had not submitted observations regarding this
petition.
4. After reviewing the positions of the parties in light of the admissibility requirements set out
in the American Convention, the Commission decided to declare the case admissible as it
relates to the alleged violations of Articles 1(1), 2, 5, 8, 13, and 25 of the Convention, to notify
the parties to make public this decision and to included in its Annual Report.
II.
PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION
A.
Petition
5. The Commission received the present petition on June 27, 2003 and acknowledged receipt
in a letter to the Petitioners dated July 3, 2003.
6. On August 19, 2003, the Commission forwarded the pertinent parts of the petition to the
State, establishing a period of two months for the State to respond. As of the date of this
report, the Commission had received no response from the State regarding this
communication.
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Commissioner Freddy Gutiérrez Trejo, of Venezuelan nationality, did not take part in the discussion and voting on the
present report, pursuant to Article 17(2)(a) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.
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