A/HRC/45/CRP.11 committed out of pressure, fear of delays and unfair trials, and wanting to be released as quickly as possible from El Helicoide.1375 “La Negra Hipólita” 701. Lessi Marcano is a Venezuelan architect. In 2010, he suffered an accident, which left him partially disabled. He began experiencing visions and believed he had the ability to predict future events. Mr. Marcano began sharing his predictions on Twitter via the handle the “Negra Hipólita” (@HiiPolita), gaining increasing followers. In 2014, Mr. Marcano hired his niece to help him with his social media accounts and to arrange personalized consultations and readings for his clients. He had also been openly critical of the Government. 1376 702. On 24 September 2014, Mr. Marcano published tweets on both his personal account and the Negra Hipólita account that the National Assembly would soon find itself in mourning.1377 On 1 October 2014, PSUV congressional representative Robert Serra and his assistant María Herrera were murdered.1378 703. On 14 October 2014, SEBIN officers detained Mr. Marcano’s niece at her office in Las Mercedes, Caracas, before searching Mr. Marcano’s home, seizing electronics, and detaining him. According to Mr. Marcano, they did not present arrest or search warrants. SEBIN officers interrogated Mr. Marcano in Plaza Venezuela, asking him about his tweets.1379 Initial Court Appearance and Preliminary Hearing 704. The initial court appearance was held on 17 October 2014 at the Thirty-Third Court of Control, with Judge Solchy Delgado Paredes presiding. The Twentieth Prosecutor’s Office, under the leadership of Katherine Haringhton Padrón, brought charges of public incitement, incitement to hate and conspiracy, as well as cyber fraud and false advertising against Mr. Marcano. Mr. Marcano and his niece were remanded to El Helicoide for preventive detention.1380 705. The preliminary hearing was held on 29 January 2015. When asked, Mr. Marcano told the judge he did not know any of the people accused of Mr. Serra’s murder. He and his niece were offered plea bargains. Mr. Marcano was sentenced to one year and nine months, his niece to one year and three months.1381 In exchange for accepting the lesser and unrelated charges of fraudulent offers and conspiracy, they would be released within 15 days with a non-custodial sentence.1382 706. According to Mr. Marcano and his lawyer, the prosecutor then changed the deal. Instead of processing their non-custodial sentence within two weeks, the prosecution asked the court to keep Mr. Marcano and his niece in pre-trial detention until a psychological exam could be performed. The Ministry of Penitentiary Services performed the exam on 18 March 2015. However, the results were not transferred to the Court until eight months later. Mr. Marcano and his niece remained in El Helicoide during this time. 1383 707. On 17 August 2015, Mr. Marcano’s defence attorney filed a writ of amparo on behalf of Mr. Marcano and his niece at the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, alleging 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 Mission Interview with Inés González on 26 June 2020; Mission Interview held with Lessi Marcano held on 30 June 2020; Mission Interview C2EE25 in August 2020. Mission Interview with Lessi Marcano on 30 June 2020. https://twitter.com/LessiMarcano/status/514937909728641024 Information about the murder is included above. Mission Interview with Lessi Marcano on 30 June 2020. Ibid. Ibid. Mission Interview C2EE25 in August 2020; Mission Interview with Lessi Marcano on 30 June 2020. Ibid.; Complaint filed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of Lessi Marcano on 10 November 2015, on file with the Mission. 153