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Only 15 minutes after Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni freed a banker who the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (photo below) wanted locked up, intelligence agents arrested Judge Afiuni.
The judge was accused of abuse of authority and of corruption. Now she is housed in a cellblock in Los Teques, Venezuela, whose prisoners include women she once sentenced on criminal charges, according to a Washington Post article.
Across the Americas, activists from legal watchdog groups and constitutional experts have condemned the treatment of Judge Afiuni, and the episode has “brought into focus the increasingly tight control Chavez exerts over the judiciary,” the newspaper reported.
“Judges are scared out of their wits. Before, they got fired for these decisions. Now they go to jail,” said Carlos Ayala, former president of the Andean Commission of Jurists.
In an interview with the Post, Judge Afiuni said she knew her decision might anger Chavez, but she never expected what happened next.
“What has been really hard is knowing my fate is in Chavez’s hands,” the judge said. “Just as my detention was a result of the whim of the president, my release will also be a whim of his.”
Chavez alleged the judge committed crimes “more serious than an assassination,” and he called for a 30-year prison term.
While Gavel Grab doesn’t focus on events beyond our borders, events like the jailing of Judge Afiuni offer a vivid reminder of the high stakes when we talk about judicial independence and the importance of protecting fair and impartial courts.
