A/HRC/45/CRP.11 556. Ms. Chacón witnessed the daily verbal sexual harassment and objectification of female detainees. Certain officers would make sexual comments when they passed the women’s cell, for example asking them to turn around to see their buttocks. Some officers engaged in what they described as relationships with female detainees in exchange for privileges. Ms. Chacón witnessed male guards unlocking the female cell during the night. Some of the women would leave with the guards, who would then return them to the cell hours later.1149 557. SEBIN officers did not permit Ms. Chacón or Mr. Hinds visits or calls with family members or legal counsel. They were able to make phone calls using hidden phones belonging to other detainees, or with phones belonging to sympathetic guards.1150 558. Ms. Chacón asked repeatedly why she could not receive visitors; guards told her that the Commissioners-in-Chief made those decisions. Once she asked another commissioner if she could receive a visit, and he responded, “You don’t get visits because you’re a political prisoner, and political prisoners don’t get anything”.1151 Legal Proceedings 559. On 2 April 2018 Judge Freddy J. Pérez Alvarado, the presiding judge of the ThirtyFirst Court of First Instance of the Criminal Judicial Circuit for the Caracas Metropolitan Area, agreed with defence counsel that prosecutors had not presented an accusation within the 45-day time limit established by the Criminal Procedure Code.1152 He ordered the immediate conditional release of Ms. Chacón and Mr. Hinds, with precautionary measures of presentation before the court every 15 days. 1153 560. SEBIN refused to receive the order, as indicated in the bailiff’s reports to the judge. One such report stated, “the correspondence personnel is indicating to me that they do not have authorization from the immediate superior of that office to receive this letter, and that they need to wait for authorization from the director. I then proceeded to request identification or personal details, but he refused and I could not recognize him due to the tinted glass at the reception window.”1154 561. Judge Pérez Alvarado continued to demand the release, issuing five additional notifications to SEBIN between 2 April 2018 and 14 May 2018, ordering the detainees’ immediate release.1155 SEBIN returned each of the notifications to the tribunal, first claiming the letters had been directed to the wrong recipient, then that their system was not operational, as documented by the bailiff and the judge.1156 One defence lawyer approached a SEBIN official at El Helicoide to inquire about the release and claims to have been told, “We are like a parallel court here. The orders that come from the tribunal first have to go to Plaza Venezuela, and that’s where they decide if they are released or not. Headquarters will call the El Helicoide Director.”1157 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 128 Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón on 13 May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE09 in June 2020. Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón on 13 May 2020; Mission Interview with Gregory Hinds on 19 May 2020. Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón on 13 May 2020. Criminal Procedure Code, art. 236.3. As detailed in Habeas corpus motion, 16 April 2018, Criminal File No. 31C-20.426-18, pp. 3-4. Bailiff’s Service Acts dated 18 April 2018, 20 April 2018, 23 April 2018, 27 April 2018, 30 April 2018, and 11 May 2018, on file with the Mission. Information about the reception or rejection of notifications and orders was also confirmed in Mission Interview C2EE07 in May 2020. Acts numbered 327-18, 344-18, 389-18, 454-18, 481-18 and 543-18, dated 02 April 2018, 05 April 2018, 13 April 2018, 26 April 2018, 3 May 2018 and 14 May 2018, Criminal File No. 31C-20.42618, on file with Mission. Mission Interviews C2EE06 and C2EE07 in May 2020; Oficio 0074-18, Servicio de Alguacilazgo, 11 April 2018, on file with the Mission; Oficio 392-18 from Judge Perez to Eleventh Tribunal, 13 April 2018, responding to request for information related to Mr. Hinds habeas corpus filing, on file with Mission. Mission Interview C2EE07 in May 2020.