Hugo Chávez Frías
President
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Caracas, Venezuela
Via Fax and Email

RE: Francisco Usón—Political Prisoner and Prisoner of Conscience

Dear President Chávez:

As you can see from our International Council, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) brings together advocates of human rights from across the political and ideological spectrum in defense of human freedom and in the case of Venezuelan citizen Franciso Usón, due process and freedom of speech.  We are writing to express our serious concern regarding actions taken by your government against Mr. Usón.

Mr. Usón, a former finance minister in your government, says he resigned from your cabinet because he disagreed with your order to activate the Avila Plan on April 11, 2001. He has since criticized your government frequently and became involved with the effort to promote a recall referendum.

A civilian, he has been incarcerated in Ramo Verde military prison since May of 2004. As you have mentioned on Venezuelan television, Mr. Usón was incarcerated for remarks he made on a television opinion program. Specifically, he said that if the soldiers who died at Fort Mara military base were burned with a flamethrower: “this is very, very serious, if it ends up being true.”

We believe that the charge against Usón – slandering, offending, or insulting the national armed forces in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – and the trial process that followed constitute violations of human rights, represent a troubling abuse of power, and are politically motivated.  Mr. Usón has exhausted all ordinary measures within your judicial system.

Article 49 (4) of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela guarantees citizens the right to trial by a fair tribunal.  Mr. Usón had been retired from the armed forces (where he rose to the rank of Brigadier General) for one year before your defense minister, General Jorge García-Carneiro, ordered his arrest. It is unconstitutional to have a civilian detained, tried, and convicted by a military judge.

Article 57 of the Constitution ensures the right to freedom of expression. Mr. Usón’s remarks only constitute a crime in a land where citizens are not free to express their opinion. Freedom of expression is not only safeguarded by the Bolivarian Constitution but also by treaties that bind the government of Venezuela. 

More alarmingly, Mr. Usón has experienced, during his detainment, two life-threatening incidents while in a military hospital.  It seems highly suspicious that Usón has been injected with dosages of adrenaline that are enough to cause a cardiac arrest. Twice.

On December 1, 2006, Mr. Usón was declared by the Human Rights Foundation a Political Prisoner and Prisoner of Conscience.  For this reason we have begun a worldwide campaign for his release. Every day that he remains incarcerated represents a violation of human rights by your government.

Mr. President, what we have described above constitutes violations of the Constitution of Venezuela as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and the American Convention on Human Rights (“Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica”) to which Venezuela is signatory.  We urge you to immediately release and exonerate Francisco Usón.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

/s/
                                   
Thor Halvorssen (Mendoza)                                    Armando Valladares
President                                                            Chairman

cc.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Santiago Canton)
Organization of American States (José Miguel Insulza)
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Sergio García Ramírez)
International Society for Human Rights (Alexander V. Bischoffshausen)
European Parliament - Human Rights Unit (Geoffrey Harris)
European Parliament - Subcommittee on Human Rights (Hélène Flautre)
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Louise Arbour)
Council of Europe Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Thomas Hammarberg)
Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation (Ken Coates)
Asociacion Democratica Costarricense (Orlando Castro Murillo)
Amnesty International – International Secretariat
Human Rights Watch  (Jane Olson)
Human Rights Watch - Americas Advisory Committee (Lloyd Axworthy)
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (David Atkinson)
Comisión Permanente de Derechos Humanos de Nicaragua (Nicolas Bolaños Geyer) Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Washington DC (Bernardo Alvarez Herrera)
Permanent Venezuelan Mission to the United Nations, New York (Francisco Arias Cardenas)
Permanent Venezuelan Mission to the United Nations, Geneva (Raquel Alexandra Poitevien Cabral)

Human Rights Foundation
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 809
New York, NY 10118
Ph: (212) 246-8485
Fax: (212) 643-4278
www.humanrightsfoundation.org
info@humanrightsfoundation.org

Thor Halvorssen, President
Manuela Zuloaga, Legal Director

International Council
Kenneth Anderson
Vladimir Bukovsky
Palden Gyatso
Armando Valladares
Ramón J. Velásquez
Alvaro Vargas Llosa
Elie Wiesel
James Q. Wilson
Harry Wu

Directors and Advisors
Charles Hoeflich
Michael J. Horowitz
Roy Innis
Eduardo Mendoza
Tom G. Palmer
Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr.
Robert A. Sirico

Armando Valladares, Chairman