» Lawyers for Cedeño Say that US Won’t Extradite

» STATEMENT BY ELIGIO CEDEÑO

STATEMENT BY ELIGIO CEDEÑO

December 25, 2009

As is now well known, this past December 10th, the 31st Control Court of Caracas, presided by Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, granted me a conditional release, after having spent the past two years and ten months in “pretrial” detention without a trial. I would note that Venezuelan criminal law places a two-year maximum on pretrial detention, except in exceptional circumstances which were not present in my case. Unfortunately, the Venezuelan government hopes to create the impression that Judge Afiuni’s independent decision was somehow the product of corruption or a shady deal. Sadly, compliance with the law has become suspect in Venezuela, and those who dare to follow the law are subject to a moral and public “firing squad” from the Chávez regime. My first thoughts are for the brave judge, who was assigned to my case only recently, and whom I met for the first time when I appeared before her in her courtroom on December 10, but who today is paying for her judicial independence with jail time. Her treatment reveals to the world the true face of Venezuela’s justice system, and underscores my feelings of solidarity with the dozens of political prisoners who today are in our prisons for thinking differently and expressing it publicly.

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» Eligio Cedeño Admitted to the United States, Now Free

Today, the U.S. government completed the required paperwork concerning Eligio Cedeño’s status as a political persecuted individual.  He has now been officially admitted to the United States, where he enjoys complete freedom and the protections of its laws, and will be able to establish residence.  More news to come.

» Cedeño Makes Legal Entry to United States, Voluntarily Submits to U.S. Jurisdiction

The following is the latest press release from the defense team:

Former Venezuelan Political Prisoner Eligio Cedeño Submits Himself to United States Jurisdiction

Dec. 21, Miami, Fla. – Lawyers acting on behalf of Eligio Cedeño, a Venezuelan businessman who had been unlawfully jailed without trial for almost three years, confirm that he legally entered the United States on Dec. 19th to voluntarily submit himself to U.S. jurisdiction. Cedeño was released from detention in Venezuela on Dec. 10th, and subsequently the judge who issued the release order, María Lourdes Afiuni, was imprisoned and personally denounced on state television by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Defense counsel for Cedeño firmly deny false claims made to the media today by the Venezuelan government, which is alleging that their client had been “arrested” in the United States or that he had committed a crime.

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» Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, a Prisoner of Chávez

The following is a translation of a new article El Nacional, which includes interviews with some colleagues of the judge whom was jailed by Hugo Chávez  after releasing the political prisoner Eligio Cedeño.  In transferring the judge to the max security women’s facility at Los Teques, the report points to a violent gang awaiting her arrival, whom she had sentenced to jail some years ago.

Maria Lourdes Afiuni: the judge-prisoner of the extra-judicial powers

In prison, the gang of Las Juanas was awaiting the civil servant. The release of Cedeño was based on the violations of the businessman’s rights denounced before the United Nations.

Dec. 20th, 2009, Edgar Lopez, El Nacional

The case of the businessman Eligio Cedeño arrived to her hands only a few days before Nov. 25th. The judge, Maria Lourdes Afiuni, commented to a friend that a matter so “controversial” could complicate her plans to travel to Miami as they do every year to take advantage of the sales that stores offer around the Thanksgiving holiday.

But she also thought that she wouldn’t have another opportunity to use the dollars she had been granted by CADIVI. She went shopping and returned home loaded with suitcases and without enough money to pay the taxi which drove her from the airport to her 130-square-meter apartment in La Boyera. She was going to give the first gifts to her parents and her 17-year-old daughter who would soon begin to study law at the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello.

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» Press Release: Regarding Judge Afiuni’s Decision to Release Cedeño

Judge’s Decision to Release Eligio Cedeño Based on Opinion of United Nations Working Group

Jailing of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni Shows Lack of Judicial Independence, says Lawyer

CARACAS, Dec. 15, 2009 – On Thursday, Dec. 10, the Venezuelan political prisoner Eligio Cedeño was conditionally released following an order issued by Judge María Lourdes Afiuni. Within minutes of granting Cedeño’s conditional release, Judge Afiuni was arrested by officers from Venezuela’s intelligence police (DISIP), the ruling was reversed by another judge of the same court, and a new arrest warrant was issued for Cedeño.

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» Hugo Chávez demands jailing of judge who freed banker

The following article was published in the British newspaper The Guardian:

The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, has called a judge a criminal and demanded she be jailed for 30 years after she released one of the country’s most prominent prisoners.

Police arrested Judge María Afiuni, court bailiffs and a defence lawyers after her ruling allowed Eligio Cedeño, a banker facing corruption charges, to walk free last week.

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» Controversy and Outrage Follow Cedeño/Afiuni Crackdown

The Associated Press has published a good article summarizing the events of the past few days.  Incredibly, there are members of the ruling party who are complaining that the judiciary isn’t sufficiently controlled by the presidency:

But the swift arrest of Judge Maria Afiuni last week over her ruling, combined with charges that appeared to come in lockstep with Chavez’s angry reaction, have led some to call the case a prime example of the judiciary’s lack of independence in Venezuela.

“It’s unacceptable pressure being put on the judicial branch by the executive branch,” Alberto Arteaga Sanchez, a criminal law professor at Venezuela’s Central University, said Monday. “It’s a case that demonstrates the weakness of Venezuela’s democratic system.”

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