AMERICA ECONOMIA (Latin America), TERRA COLOMBIA (Colombia), EXCELSIOR (Mexico)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his country would withdraw from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights “out of dignity,” after the Costa-Rica based organization accused Venezuela of “inhumane” jail conditions, America Economia reports.
According to Terra Colombia, Hugo Chavez accused the Human Rights Court of supporting terrorism, after the commission issued a rule in favor of a man who had been sentenced to nine years in prison by the Venezuelan government. Raul Diaz had been found guilty of participating in the 2003 bombing attack on the Colombian consultate and Spanish Embassy in Caracas which injured four people.
Diaz managed to flee to the United States after serving out half of his sentence. The Commission on Human Rights issued a rule against the Venezuelan government for alleged “inhuman and degrading treatment” during Diaz’s detention.
The commission also ordered Venezuela to pay Raul Diaz’s medical expenses as well as compensation for moral damages.
According to the Mexican daily Excelsior, Hugo Chavez called the ruling a “travesty,” saying that it “offended the dignity of the Venezuelan people” and that his country had “no other solution” but to exit the organization.