A/HRC/45/CRP.11 Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment 279. The Mission investigated 13 cases in which SEBIN agents tortured or subjected detainees to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.717 The torture and illtreatment were usually carried out within the first few days of detention, prior to initial court appearances, while the detainee was held incommunicado. 280. Torture is defined as acts causing severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental. To qualify as torture, these acts must be inflicted intentionally, committed for a specific purpose and involve a public official, either directly or indirectly. 718 The specific purpose could include extracting a confession, obtaining information, punishment, intimidation, humiliation, coercion or any reason based on discrimination. 719 Among the elements taken into account to distinguish torture from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are severity, perpetrator intention and the powerlessness of the victim.720 281. Former SEBIN director Christopher Figuera told the Mission that, upon taking up his position in October 2018, he found a policy and a “cultural behaviour” of torture in place in SEBIN.721 He said that the acts might start out as ill-treatment, such as denying food or water, and then became more severe, depending on the victim’s reaction and/or the attitude of the officers involved.722 He told the Mission that President Maduro decided who would be tortured, who would remain detained and who would be released.723 282. According to the Mission’s investigations, the acts were usually committed during interrogations to extract confessions or information, including phone and social media passwords, or to force an individual to incriminate themselves or others, particularly highprofile opposition leaders. 283. Statements were often audio or video recorded and some were subsequently broadcast on television. In several cases, SEBIN officers made the detainees record a WhatsApp audio or video several times until the agent was satisfied with the statement. In the Juan Requesens case, SEBIN officers allegedly administered psychotropic drugs to induce a confession, a tactic later confirmed by Cristopher Figuera in an interview with the Mission. 724 284. The Mission documented patterns of conduct in torture methods used by SEBIN officers, both male and female, against political targets and others perceived to be critical of the Government. Cases occurred primarily between 2014 and 2018. 285. The Mission documented the following acts of torture and other ill-treatment against these targets: 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 78 deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law, regardless of the duration of the said deprivation of liberty or concealment”, CED/C/10/D/1/2013, para. 10.3. In this case, the period in question was ‘more than seven days’. See paras. 2.3 and 10.4 to 10.6. Including the cases of Case 1: Leopoldo López, Lorent Saleh, Gabriel Valles, Rodolfo Pedro González, Case 12: Lessi Marcano, Case 8: Angel Zerpa, Catalina Andarcia, C2EE01 (female), Case 6: Victor Navarro, Case 6: C2EE09 (female), Case 12: Pedro Jaimes Criollo, Case 9: Juan Carlos Requesens, Jesus Medina Ezaine. CAT, art. 1. Ibid., Under international criminal law, it is not settled whether torture as a crime against humanity requires the act to be committed with a specific purpose. For a non-exhaustive list of acts that can be considered as amounting to torture, see A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, paras. 50-57. For CIDT, see paras. 186 ff. According to former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Novak, the systematic and historical interpretation of articles 1 and 16 CAT suggest that the decisive criteria for distinguishing CIDT from torture are the purpose of the conduct, the intention of the perpetrator and the powerlessness of the victim – rather than the intensity of the suffering inflicted. See A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, para. 188. Mission Interview with Christopher Figuera in June 2020. Ibid. Ibid. Mission Interview with Christopher Figuera in June 2020.