2023-11-08 18:15:36
The first thing that surprises is that it is an Englishman who defends Venezuela before the International Criminal Court (ICC), this due to the already well-known “anti-imperialist” discourse of Chavismo. Next up, Ben Emmerson takes on a controversial case again, just as he has done in passing.
(Also read: Why is the ICC hearing on Maduro’s government unprecedented and what is at stake?)
He is known in international law with his more than 25 years of experience. To his credit, he defended the cleric Abu Qatada, identified as the spiritual leader of Al Qaeda in Europe, who was extradited to Jordan facing charges of terrorism.
This case was controversial, with as its epicenter the doubt of whether Qatada could be extradited to a country where he was accused of crimes related to terrorism.
Emmerson was the UN special rapporteur for human rights and counterterrorism between 2011 and 2017. During his tenure, he investigated drone attacks in countries including Pakistan, Yemen and in the Sahel region.
Two other important cases that he has carried out are that of the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and he also had Carlos Puidgemont, the Catalan independence activist, in his client portfolio.
(Read also: US sets November 30 for Maduro to enable opposition candidates)
He is known as a “Goliath of human rights.” He confronted Vladimir Putin over the Aleksander Litvinenko radioactive poisoning case.
It seems contradictory to me with the anti-imperialist narrative of the Venezuelan State that is represented before the
ICC (Intl Criminal Court) by English and Belgian lawyers. I will briefly summarize the arguments of the Venezuelan State, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office and the victims’ office.— Alfredo Romero (@alfredoromero) November 7, 2023
Now he defends the Government of Venezuela accused of committing crimes against humanity, however, in the two appeal hearings that took place this Tuesday and Wednesday, his arguments before the ICC – where he already has a lot of experience – were not entirely convincing.
Lawyers and human rights defenders in Venezuela believe that the weakness of their arguments is due to the fact that there are not sufficient reasons to find the Venezuelan State not guilty, making their defense really complicated.
There are those who consider that Emmerson has a great test ahead of him, in addition to the impact that this case may generate on international law.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
TIME CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
#Ben #Emmerson #Qaeda #lawyer #defends #Maduro #ICC #Venezuela #International