Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro on Thursday dismissed new torture allegations against him and his wife, Cilia Flores, as “false accusations” during a court appearance in New York, where a judge entered not-guilty pleas on their behalf in a revised indictment accusing them of overseeing a state-sponsored campaign of repression.Maduro, who was brought to court in ankle shackles, criticised the indictment when judge Alvin K. Hellerstein asked him to enter a plea. He twice challenged the charges, saying they contained “false accusations and false testimony”. He spoke through an interpreter.Hellerstein entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Maduro and Flores, who also denied the allegations. “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty,” she said through an interpreter when asked to enter her plea.The revised indictment accuses the couple of leading a system of repression in Venezuela that allegedly tortured scores of victims, including three Americans. Prosecutors claim the abuses included beatings, asphyxiation and electric shocks.According to the indictment, Maduro personally recommended torture methods, received updates on the treatment of specific victims and threatened to kill one prisoner’s child as a form of psychological torture. Flores, a former attorney general, allegedly helped develop the repressive system and ordered the torture of specific individuals.Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said last week that the 63-year-old former president denied the charges and “looks forward to his day in court.”
Trial date may be pushed back
Prosecutors told the judge that lawyers for both sides want the trial date moved from June 1 to June 14. The revised indictment expands the allegations against Maduro and Flores to cover alleged torture dating back to 2013, when Maduro succeeded his mentor, Hugo Chávez, as president.The couple were seized from their home in Caracas during a US military raid in January. They had earlier pleaded not guilty in a separate US drug trafficking case, which accuses them of conspiring to flood the United States with cocaine.Their lawyers have argued that the case should be dismissed on immunity grounds, saying Maduro was the leader of a foreign country and Flores was its first lady.
Maduro faces years of scrutiny over alleged abuses
Maduro was Venezuela’s president from 2013 until his capture in January. He has been under investigation for years by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity linked to his government’s crackdown on political opponents. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.Torture is a crime under international law. It can be prosecuted outside the country where the abuse occurred, regardless of the victims’ nationality.However, prosecuting foreign officials for torture in the United States is rare. Previous cases have included proceedings against the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, Russians accused of war crimes in Ukraine and a former prison warden in Syria under Bashar Assad’s rule.
