The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said Monday (12/8) that his office was “actively monitoring” the situation in Venezuela following the country's disputed presidential election.
Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's long-ruling socialist leader, was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential election, defeating his challenger, Edmundo Gonzalez, giving him a third term in office.
Opposition leaders claim that Gonzales won the election in a fraudulent manner.
Since the election, Maduro's supporters have detained more than 2,000 people who protested or questioned his victory, despite evidence that Maduro lost by a two-to-one margin.
The wave of demonstrations that followed killed 24 people.
The ICC prosecutor's office said it was closely monitoring the situation on the ground and had received reports of violence and other concerns. It was working with Venezuelan authorities to ensure that the rule of law is upheld and that the public is protected from potential crimes as set out in the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the international criminal court.
President Maduro has urged Venezuelans to report people skeptical of the election results using a government app originally created to report power outages.
He also announced on television plans to upgrade two prisons to accommodate more prisoners, and declared, “There will be no mercy,” according to The Associated Press.
The ICC is also investigating violence during Venezuela's 2017 elections, but has not issued arrest warrants. Khan's office confirmed the probe was ongoing and encouraged people to come forward with information through an online portal.
“If any individuals or organizations have information that may be relevant to this ongoing investigation, we would welcome you to submit it,” Khan’s office said in a statement. (rd/jm)
Some of the information in this report comes from AFP and The Associated Press.
