Communication No. 456/2011 (CAT/C/54/D/456/2011). State party: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Key paragraph(s) can be found below the document.

Paragraph 6.6: “The authorities have not provided any information regarding possible steps that may have been undertaken to establish his whereabouts and, if he is deceased, his remains have not been located and returned to his family. It has also not been determined whether the prison authorities and the Bolivarian National Guard bear any responsibility in the matter. In particular, no steps were taken to clarify whether Mr. Guerrero Larez’s disappearance was intended as a punishment or form of intimidation because he knew about alleged illegal activities conducted by a group of inmates in complicity with certain authorities, as argued by Mr. Guerrero Sánchez before the Fundamental Rights Department of the Public Prosecution Service. In the absence of any refutation by the State party, the Committee concludes that Mr. Guerrero Larez was removed from the protection of the law on 7 September 2009 and that, in the specific circumstances of this case, his enforced disappearance constitutes an act of torture within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention.” [emphasis added by PHRP]