IACHR takes to Inter-American Court case concerning Venezuela about unlawful and arbitrary detention and cruel treatment

December 11, 2025

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on October 2, 2025, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 14,050, with regard to Venezuela. This case concerns Venezuela’s international responsibility for the harm suffered by Franklin José Brito Rodríguez in the 2000s, including his unlawful and arbitrary detention while he was on hunger strike as a form of protest.

This case—taken to the IACHR in 2009—concerns farmer, agricultural engineer, and property rights defender Brito, who denounced irregularities in land management in the state of Bolívar.

Since 2003, Brito had engaged in hunger strikes and other forms of peaceful protests to demand respect for his rights. In 2009, while he was protesting outside the office of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Caracas, he was deprived of liberty and taken without his consent to Dr. Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital, where he was kept in military custody until his death in 2010. While in detention, he was subjected to forced medical treatment and intravenous feeding without his consent.

In Admissibility and Merits Report 200/24, the IACHR found that Brito’s detention and forced transfer to the Military Hospital had been unlawful and arbitrary, since there had been no court warrant in place and there had also been no medical reasons to deprive him of liberty. The State failed to prove that Brito’s detention had been necessary to preserve his health o that any less invasive alternatives had been considered at the time. Further, these proceedings involved an excessive use of force, and the patient was never informed of the reasons why he was being detained.

While he was in detention, Brito was subjected to treatment and forced feeding without his consent—even while he was under sedation—despite having been discharged. According to the IACHR, this amounted to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. The IACHR noted that these events happened in a context of harassment and public stigmatization toward Brito for his complaints against the authorities, within a broader State policy of retaliation against critics. The IACHR further stressed the State’s failure to investigate Brito’s death and the lack of measures to protect his life and integrity, despite various warnings about his serious health condition.

The IACHR therefore concluded that the Venezuelan State was liable for violations of the rights to personal integrity, personal liberty, privacy, judicial guarantees, freedom of expression, health, and judicial protection, held in Articles 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 8.1, 11.2, 13.1, 25.1, and 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights, concerning the obligations held in Articles 1.1 and 21 of that instrument, with regard to Brito. The IACHR also concluded that the Venezuelan State was liable for violations of Articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, with regard to Brito. The IACHR further found that the State was responsible for violations of the rights held in Article 5.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights, concerning the obligations held in Article 1.1 of the same instrument, with regard to Brito’s relatives.

The IACHR therefore asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to demand that the State take the following measures:

1. Provide comprehensive reparations—in the form of financial compensation and other measures—for these human rights violations
2. Make sure that investigations into Brito’s arrest and death are swiftly and effectively completed, ensuring justice and accountability
3. Adopt measures of non-recurrence, among others by providing training for judicial authorities and military medical staff about human rights, and more specifically about banning forced medical treatment and protecting individuals who are in State custody

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 259/25

5:05 PM