Eligio Cedeño; a young Venezuelan banker jailed in 2007 for defying Chavez

Escaped High-Profile Chavez Prisoner to Challenge Venezuela in U.N. Debate

By Guest Column UN Watch (Bio and Archives)  Wednesday, June 27, 2012 | Print friendly | Subscribe | Email Us

GENEVA,  – Venezuela’s most-wanted man will appear before the United Nations this week to expose the Chavez government’s poor human rights record, and to oppose its bid for a seat on the world’s top human rights body.

Eligio Cedeño, a young Venezuelan banker jailed in 2007 for defying Chavez, was declared a victim of arbitrary detention by an expert working group of the U.N. Human Rights Council. He was released nearly three years later by a courageous judge, Maria Lourdes Afiuni. The same day, Chavez went on live TV to call her a criminal, and threw her in prison.

Cedeño managed to escape the country and found asylum in Miami. An Interpol red notice against him was removed on grounds that Venezuela was engaged in political persecution.

Meanwhile, Judge Afiuni, mistreated in prison, became very sick. Her lawyer is now being targeted, reported the New York Times last week.

UN Watch, the Geneva-based human rights group, is arranging Cedeño’s testimony this week before a plenary meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council, as well as appearances by well-known activists from Syria and North Korea.

“We are honored to provide a platform for such courageous champions of human rights,” said international lawyer Hillel Neuer, the director of UN Watch. The group heads an international campaign of 55 MPs and NGOs seeking to defeat the Chavez candidacy for a seat on the 47-nation council.