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Diffamation contre Humberto Prado Sifontes

Statut: 
Campagne de diffamation
À propos de la situation

Le 26 octobre 2016, M. Humberto Prado Sifontes a une nouvelle fois été la cible d'une campagne de diffamation de la part du membre du congrès vénézuelien Diosdado Cabello, lors de son programme hebdomadaire télévisé et sur internet "Con El Mazo Dando".

À propos de Humberto Prado Sifontes

Humberto Prado SifontesHumberto Prado Sifontes est directeur de l'Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones – OVP (Observatoire vénézuelien des prisons). L'OVP documente des affaires de violations perpétrées contre les détenus au Venezuela et promeut les droits de ces personnes.

30 Octobre 2016
Campagne de diffamation contre Humberto Prado Sifontes

Le 26 octobre 2016, M. Humberto Prado Sifontes a une nouvelle fois été la cible d'une campagne de diffamation de la part du membre du congrès vénézuelien Diosdado Cabello, lors de son programme hebdomadaire télévisé et sur internet "Con El Mazo Dando".

Le 26 octobre 2016, le membre du congrès Diosdado Cabello a affirmé dans son programme télévisé "Con El Mazo Dando",puis dans un article publié sur le site d'informations de l'émission, que Humberto Prado Sifontes avait reçu des fonds du National Endowment for Democracy (NED), qu'il avait volé les fonds et qu'ils les avaient envoyés vers une entreprise enregistrée au Panama sous le nom de sa femme. Le site web affirme également que cette entreprise imaginaire se consacre à l'achat et à la vente d'armes. Toutes ces allégations sont fausses, y compris que le défenseur a reçu des fonds du NED. Ces fausses allégations contre Humberto Prado Sifontes visent vraisemblablement à le discréditer et à susciter de l'animosité à son égard, en l'accusant de voler et placer des fonds à l'étranger en période de crise économique et politique. Les allégations correspondent aussi à une tendance aux campagnes de diffamation orchestrées par les dignitaires vénézuéliens afin de stigmatiser et criminaliser les organisations de la société civile qui ont des relations avec l'étranger, qui reçoivent des fonds internationaux ou qui utilisent les mécanismes internationaux et régionaux dans le domaine des droits humains.

Depuis cinq ans, Humberto Prado Sifontes est la cible d'une campagne de diffamation permanente et de déclarations diffamatoires par des dignitaires. Plus récemment, le 20 octobre 2016, Diosdado Cabello a porté de fausses accusations contre le défenseur en représailles à sa participation à l'Examen périodique universel (EPU) de l'ONU, et aux audiences de la Commission interaméricaine des droits de l'Homme (CIDH). Avant cela, le 23 avril 2016, Tareck El Aissami, gouverneur de l'État d'Aragua et ancien ministre de l'Intérieur et de la Justice, a calomnié le défenseur en suggérant qu'il avait un rôle de meneur au sein des gangs en prison. Le même jour, le compte Facebook du défenseur a été piraté et utilisé pour diffuser des informations fausses et diffamatoires. 

Front Line Defenders condamne les accusations fausses et diffamatoires proférées contre le défenseur des droits humains Humberto Prado Sifontes et sa famille, car cela semble être un acte de représailles contre son travail pacifique et légitime en faveur des droits humains. Front Line Defenders est préoccupée par la sécurité d'Humberto Prado Sifontes et de sa famille, car les allégations sont proférées dans un climat de trouble civil et de répression de la liberté d'expression et de rassemblement. Compte tenu des manifestations contre le gouvernement qui se déroulent actuellement dans le pays et le rôle des groupes de défense des droits humains pour dénoncer les exactions, les défenseur-ses des droits humains craignent être bientôt la cible d'un harcèlement intensif.

Front Line Defenders exhorte les autorités vénézuéliennes à:

1. Garantir que tous les représentants de l'État impliqués dans cette campagne de diffamation contre Humberto Prado Sifontes et les membres de sa famille publient des excuses pour ces déclarations diffamatoires à son encontre;

2. Prendre des mesures pour garantir que les membres du gouvernement ou d'autres personnalités publiques s'abstiennent de faire des déclarations stigmatisant le travail du défenseur Humberto Prado Sifontes;

3. Garantir qu’en toutes circonstances, tous-tes les défenseur-ses des droits humains au Venezuela puissent mener à bien leurs actions légitimes en faveur des droits humains, sans craindre ni restrictions ni représailles, y compris l'acharnement judiciaire.

17 Mai 2016
Piratage du compte d'un réseau social et diffamation contre le défenseur des droits humains Humberto Prado Sifontes

Le 23 avril 2016, Tareck El Aissami, gouverneur de l'État d'Aragua et ancien ministre de l'Intérieur et de la Justice a calomnié M. Humberto Prado Sifontes. Sur son compte Twitter, il a traité M. Sifontes de "pran", un terme négatif utilisé par les détenus leaders qui coordonnent les gangs et qui sont responsables de violences à l'intérieur des prisons. Cela fait suite à la publication d'une interview dans laquelle le défenseur accusait M. El Aissami de la crise au sein du système carcéral et dans laquelle il parlait de la dite mafia "pran" dans les prisons vénézuéliennes.

Le même jour, le compte Facebook du défenseur a été piraté et utilisé pour diffuser des informations fausses et diffamatoires. Les pirates ont publié plusieurs messages et une photo présumant des liens entre M. Sifontes et Polar C.A, une entreprise de nourriture et boissons. Les messages accusaient aussi le défenseur d'être un "pran". La page Facebook de Humberto Prado Sifontes a également été modifiée et sa photo changée pour une photo de lui avec une arme dans une main et une bière Polar C.A. dans l'autre. Après le piratage de son compte Facebook, le sujet Polar C.A a commencé à être repris sur Twitter. Un tweet taxant le défenseur de "pran" est devenu viral et plusieurs comptes ont commencé à utiliser le hashtag #HumbertoPradoPranDePolar.

Une autre image publiée sur Twitter montrait un échange privé d'e-mails entre le défenseur et une personne de Polar C.A. Cela indique la possibilité que l'un des comptes ou les deux, aient été piratés. D'autres tweets contenaient des insultes et des messages diffamatoires contre Humberto Prado Sifontes et son organisation. Le 27 avril 2016, le défenseur a porté plainte devant le ministère Public.

Humberto Prado Sifontes a souvent été pris pour cible et a fait l'objet de menaces de mort. Des représentants des autorités, y compris le président, l'accusent d'être à l'origine d'incidents violents dans les prisons vénézuéliennes. Le 4 mai 2016, Diosdado Cabello, ancien président de l'Assemblée nationale a attaqué et discrédité le défenseur des droits humains lors de son programme télévisé hebdomadaire Con El Mazo Dando. M. Cabello affirme que Humberto Prado Sifontes a illégalement reçu des fonds étrangers, ce qui peut être considéré comme un acte de trahison contre l'État. Ces attaques exposent le défenseur à un plus grand danger et au risque d'agression par des partisans de M. Cabello.

Les menaces contre Humberto Prado Sifontes ont commencé en juin 2011, après que le ministre de l'Intérieur et de la justice d'alors, Tarek El Aissami, a déclaré à la télévision publique qu'Humberto Prado Sifontes avait ouvertement menti à propos de la situation dans la prison El Rodeo II. La veille, près de 3500 membres de la garde nationale avaient lancé une opération qui avait duré plusieurs jours, pour contrôler une émeute violente dans la prison et le défenseur avait dénoncé la situation. Après la déclaration de Tarek El Aissami, un blogueur anonyme avait publié les données personnelles d'Humberto Prado Sifontes, notamment son adresse et le numéro de téléphone de son domicile, et avait proféré des menaces de mort.

Front Line Defenders est préoccupée par le piratage du compte Facebook, l'interception de communications privées et par la diffamation persistante contre le défenseur des droits humains Humberto Prado Sifontes, qui semblent être une tentative pour faire perdre toute la légitimité de son travail et l'empêcher de mener à bien son travail en faveur des droits humains au Venezuela. L'organisation craint fortement qu'une telle campagne de diffamation et de déclarations publiques puisse conduire à des actes plus violents contre les défenseur-ses des droits humains au Venezuela.

14 Février 2014
Defamation campaign against human rights defender Mr Humberto Prado Sifontes and arbitrary detention of Mr Inti Rodriguez

On 13 February 2014, human rights defender Mr Humberto Prado Sifontes was victim of a smear campaign by the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, Gen. Miguel Rodríguez Torres. On the previous day at 9:30pm, another human rights defender, Mr Inti Rodríguez, was arbitrarily detained and physically attacked by security forces, allegedly part of the Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional – SEBIN (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service) and of paramilitary groups from Western Caracas.

Humberto Prado Sifontes is the general coordinator for the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones – OVP (Venezuelan Prison Observatory). Inti Rodriguez is the media coordinator with the Programa Venezolano de Educación y Acción en derechos humanos – PROVEA (Venezuelan Programme for Education and Human Rights Action), an organisation that works to improve and develop programmes in the defence of human rights.

On 13 February at noon, the Minister of Interior and Justice, Gen. Miguel Rodríguez Torres in a ministerial speech indicated that not only Humberto Prado Sifontes has been part of a conspiracy since 2010, he has also planned to destabilize the Venezuelan penitentiary system, in addition to being guilty of violent acts that have recently escalated in the country. On 19 and 30 March 2012, the human rights defender was present at the 144th Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Afterwards, on 20 and 31 March, he was invited to the “Plan Pais” event hosted at the Universities of Washington and George Washington. As an academic, he participated in order to propose solutions to the main problems of his country.

On 12 February 2014 afternoon, members of PROVEA denounced violations that had occurred during student marches on the same day, where at least three people were killed and over 60 injured. At 9:30pm, at a police checkpoint at the exit of Agua Salud metro station, armed civilian men who identified themselves as members of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and paramilitary groups from Western Caracas arbitrarily arrested Inti Rodriguez. They led him to another location, where approximately 20 people dressed in black interrogated and beat him, stealing his belongings and finally abandoning him in a street in Caracas, after threatening him and his family if he were to report on the assault.

Evidence shows that the acts of intimidation against Humberto Prado Sifontes and the assault and threats against Inti Rodrigues are directly related to their work in defence of human rights in Venezuela. Front Line Defenders is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the human rights defenders and their families.

8 Mai 2013
Defamation campaign continues against human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes

On 5 May 2013, the Venezuelan Minister for Justice and the Interior, General Miguel Rodríguez Torres, appeared on the Jose Vicente Hoy show on the private channel Televen, and accused human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes of being part of a right-wing movement aiming to destabilise the state.

During the interview on 5 May 2013, Minister Rodríguez Torres outlined a conspiracy involving people from the human rights and NGO sectors, as well as extreme right-wing groups, which was allegedly intended to destabilise the state, radicalise young people and eventually stage a coup d'état.

The Minister claimed that Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes was involved in an event in Mexico in 2010 called the 'Fiesta Mexicana', in which a number of Venezuelan opposition figures are accused of planning to generate unrest in the country's prisons and promote and provoke violence around the elections.

The human rights defender has in fact only ever been in direct contact with one of the figures named as having attended the 'Fiesta Mexicana', Freddy Guevara, and that was in relation to the creation of the Luis Maria Olaso prize for human rights. Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes maintains that he travelled to Mexico not to take part in the 'Fiesta Mexicana', but at the invitation of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in order to submit a report.

9 Avril 2013
Public official makes defamatory statements about human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes

On 8 April 2013, the Minister for the Prison Services, Ms Iris Valera, accused prominent human rights defender, Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes, of instigating violence within the country's prisons ahead of upcoming elections on 14 April.

On 8 April 2013, Minister Valera held a press conference at her office, during which she stated that on 3 April Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes had met with the families of prisoners in the Comunidad Penitenciaria de Coro (Community Penitenciary of Coro) in the Plaza Bolívar in the city of Coro, Falcón State. The Minister accused the human rights defender of planning protest actions within prisons all over the country, beginning with hunger strikes before escalating to blood strikes, where prisoners self-mutilate in order to bring attention to their situation.

She alleged that Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes quickly departed from the Plaza and went to the Diocesan of the Archbishop when he noticed the presence of officials from the Ministry of Prison Services who were there to investigate what was going on. She claimed to have found evidence for these plans in the notebooks of a prisoner. Minister Valera also linked the human rights defender to two unrelated incidents; one in which five women tried to smuggle grenades into the same prison, and a foiled escape attempt at the Metropolitan Prison Yare II in Caracas.

Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes was in fact in Coro to participate in two conferences organised by the University of Falcón. When the families of the prisoners heard of his presence in the State, they arranged to meet him in order to give him photographic and video evidence of torture in the prison.

Given the political climate in the run-up to elections in Venezuela, Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned that statements such as those made by the Minister could lead to reprisals against the human rights defender, up to and including physical attack.

23 Juin 2011
Defamation of human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes following statements by a public official

Human rights defender, Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes, has been defamed in a number of media outlets, particularly online media, following statements made by a Government Minister. He has been accused of instigating violent incidents within the prison system in Venezuela in a renewed campaign to discredit the lawyer and his human rights activities.

On 18 June 2011, the Minister for Justice and the Interior, Mr Tareck El Aissami, speaking on State television channel Venezolana de Televisión, accused Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes of lying unashamedly about the situation in the El Rodeo II prison and linked him to opposition political groups. The statements came after violence broke out in the State penitentiaries Rodeo I and Rodeo II on 12 June 2011, when 22 persons were killed. Whilst the National Armed Forces have taken control of El Rodeo I, the violence is ongoing in El Rodeo II.

Following on from the Minister's statements a number of online media sites have falsely accused Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes of orchestrating the violence in order to create chaos in the prisons and destabalise the Government. Front Line is particularly concerned by reports that one online blog, which has since been disabled, published personal information about the human rights defender including his contact details and home address.

Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes and other human rights defenders working to promote and protect human rights in Venezuela, in particular prisoners' rights, and believes that public statements accusing Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes of instigating prison riots may place him at risk of persecution or further campaigns of intimidation and harassment.

25 Novembre 2010
Stigmatisation of human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes

Human rights defender, Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes, has been targeted in a number of statements made by public officials, including the President, and accused of instigating violent incidents within the prison system in Venezuela.

On 6 November 2010 the Nueva Prensa de Guyana newspaper reported on a campaign that had been launched on the previous day by the Ombudsman Ms Gabriela Ramírez. During the press conference for this launch the Ombudsman made reference to the dual conduct of non-governmental organisations working in the area of prisoners' rights.

On the one hand she accused them of promoting internal conflicts and strikes within the prison system, and then on the other hand of using these incidents to make public complaints to bring before the international community. The OVP is one of the primary organisations in Venezuela working on human rights related to prisoners.

Furthermore on 5 October 2010 the Diario Nuevo País newspaper reported that following the results of the legislative elections of 26 September President Hugo Chavez gave orders to the Public Ministry and the courts of justice to continue with repressive policies to criminalise political dissent.

One of those persons named was Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes, who he accused of promoting dissent within the prisons and ultimately leading to the recent riots which reportedly resulted in 18 prisoners being killed and 47 injured in the Aragua "Tocoron" Prison in the city of Maracay in Aragua.

Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes is concerned that this constitutes an attempt to deflect blame from the Ministry of Justice and the Interior for the current crisis in the prison system and puts him at risk of reprisals for his legitimate human rights activities.

Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes and other human rights defenders working to promote and protect human rights in Venezuela, in particular prisoners' rights, and believes that public statements accusing Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes of instigating prison riots may place him at risk of persecution or further campaigns of intimidation and harassment.

11 Juin 2010
Intimidation of human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes and fear of attack

Human rights defender, Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes, lawyer and Director of the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones – OVP (Venezuelan Prisons Observatory), is experiencing ongoing harassment and intimidation with recent visits by unknown individuals to his home residence.

On 27 May 2010, at approximately 07:30, Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes was approached by the Concierge of his residence building, as he was accompanying his young son to school, and informed that a few minutes previously seven men on motorcycles had arrived at the building and one of them had come forward and asked whether the 'Director of Prisons' lived in the building. The Concierge informed the men that she is not the regular concierge for the building but that no director of prisons lived there. The man then asked for confirmation that it was indeed the 'Real' building before making a phone call. As he made the phone call the other six men on motorcycles approached the building from where they had been stationed. The individuals did not identify themselves and all were dressed in black jackets, black gloves, black helmets and dark lenses.

It should be noted that the Director of Prisons does not live in the building, however Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes is the Director of the Prisons Observatory and the name of his building is 'Real'. The incident took place one week after the human rights defender accompanied a peaceful demonstration before the Supreme Tribunal in which families of people deprived of liberty called for an end to serious delays in judicial procedures and the violent situations faced by inmates in Venezuela's prisons.

On 28 May 2010 the human rights defender reported the incident to the Public Defender's Office requesting a formal investigation into this matter. Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes has been facing threats, harassment and intimidation since 2006 as a result of his work. On 24 November 2009 he was granted precautionary security measures by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.

Front Line believes that the intimidation of Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes is directly related to his work in defence of prisoners' rights in Venezuela. Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the aforementioned human rights defender and and his family.