MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2022) The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said that it condemned the decision of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, to ask for authorization of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to resume an investigation into crimes against humanity in Venezuela.
Earlier in the week, Khan issued a statement saying that he had filed an application to the ICC chamber seeking its permission to reopen his investigation into Venezuela's crimes. Khan noted that reforms conducted by the country's government were not sufficient enough to change the situation with human rights.
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela opposes the decision taken by the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, to seek permission of the Pre-Trial Chamber to resume the investigation," the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry stated.
The ministry accused Khan of bias saying that it regularly provided full information on the situation with human rights in the country.
The Venezuelan government is also going to appeal to the ICC chamber for clarification while pledging to continue cooperation with the ICC, according to the ministry.
In 2021, Venezuela and the ICC signed a memorandum of understanding in which the Venezuelan government agreed to cooperate with the court in investigations on crimes in the country. In 2020, a preliminary inquiry conducted by the ICC Prosecutor's Office found "reasonable basis" to believe that a number of crimes against humanity had been committed in Venezuela since 2017.
In April, Khan said that he would seek to proceed with the probe into alleged crimes rejecting calls of the Venezuelan government to delay the investigation.
