Yesterday we carried a Reuters report about Venezuela’s new ‘spying’ law. It was issued by decree last Wednesday, and its main provisions concern the reorganization of the intelligence services. However, it contains clauses which have caused an outcry from both the opposition and human rights bodies.
The National Intelligence and Counter-intelligence Law, among other things, requires any Venezuelan national or foreign individual, as well as any corporation or non-governmental organization, including social networks and grassroots and community organizations, to “co-operate” with the intelligence agencies when requested to do so. The penalties for refusing range from two to four years for ordinary citizens, and four to six years for public servants.
There are other aspects of the new legislation too which have given rise to expressions of concern, including the granting of powers to the security forces to collect evidence through methods such as wiretapping without first obtaining a court order. Furthermore, in a court case evidence can be withheld from defence lawyers if it is deemed in the interests of national security that this be done. Furthermore, it is specifically stated that judges and prosecutors are required to co-operate with the security agencies.
Criticisms of the law have come from across the spectrum. Legal experts and others have complained that it encroaches on a defendant’s right to due process; “Any suspect’s right to defence can be violated, and that’s unacceptable,” said Carlos Correa, from the Venezuelan human rights group Provea. Others have voiced unease about the legislation’s implication for the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. “Here you have the president legislating by decree that the country’s judges must serve as spies for the government,” the Americas Director for Human Rights Watch José Miguel Vivanco was quoted by the BBC as saying.
