A/HRC/16/47 that released those persons. In other cases, the Working Group was assured that the detainees concerned would receive fair trial guarantees. 6. Release of detainees who were subjects of the Working Group Opinions 18. The Working Group is pleased with the release of three detainees who were subjects of its Opinions and whose detentions were declared arbitrary. Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly5 (Viet Nam) was released on 15 March 2010 after three years of detention; former judge, Birtukan Mideksa6 (Ethiopia) was released on 6 October 2010 after almost five years of detention and Daw Aung Sung Suu Kyi7 (Myanmar) was released on 13 November 2010 after 21 years of house arrest. 7. Reprisal relating to the Working Group’s Opinions 19. According to information received, Judge María Lourdes Afiuni was promptly arrested on 10 December 2009 by police intelligence officers after having ordered the conditional release pending trial of Mr. Cedeño. Mr. Cedeño’s counsel team had submitted to Judge Afiuni during the trial the Working Group’s Opinion No. 10/2009 (Venezuela) on Cedeño, which declared his detention to be arbitrary (A/HRC/13/30/Add.1, p. 325). 20. On 16 December 2009, the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers sent a joint urgent appeal to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela regarding Judge Afiuni. 21. Judge Afiuni is said to have been charged with corruption, being an accessory to an escape, criminal conspiracy and abuse of power. She is still imprisoned today and the Working Group has received information alleging that she has been subjected to death threats and that her health is deteriorating. The Working Group is very concerned that the use of its Opinion on Mr. Cedeño and the subsequent conditional release of this person has been the reason for reprisal against Judge Afiuni. B. Country missions 1. Requests for visits 22. The Working Group has been invited to visit on official mission Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Georgia, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the United States of America. 23. The Working Group has also asked to visit Sierra Leone, a country which, in spite of having extended an open formal invitation to all the thematic mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, has not yet replied to the Working Group’s request. It has also made requests to visit Algeria, Argentina (a follow-up visit), Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, India, Japan, Morocco, Nauru, Nicaragua (a follow-up visit limited to Bluefields), Papua New Guinea, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 5 6 7 12 Opinion No. 20/2003, E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.1, p. 4. Opinion No. 28/2009, A/HRC/16/47/Add.1 Opinion No. 8/1992, E/CN.4/1993/24; Opinion No.2/2002, E/CN.4/2003/8/Add.1; Opinion No. 9/2004, E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.1; Opinion No.2/2007, A/HRC/7/4/Add.1; Opinion No. 46/2008, A/HRC/13/30/Add.1, Opinion No.12/2010, A/HRC/16/47/Add.1