A/HRC/45/CRP.11 suffocated him with a plastic bag filled with tear gas. He was not given any food and had no access to the bathroom.1469 772. During the night of 20 to 21 May 2018, the DGCIM officers removed his hood and cuffed his hands in front of him as opposed to behind his back. They read him his rights and made him sign a certificate stating that he had just been detained.1470 Captain de la Sotta told family members that DGCIM officers had attempted to induce a confession that he had been involved in planning a coup d’état, together with opposition political leader María Corina Machado.1471 773. On 21 May 2018, Captain de la Sotta was examined by a forensic doctor from the National Service of Medicine and Forensic Sciences (SENAMECF) of the Ministry of the Interior. The report certified that Captain de la Sotta did not have external injuries and was in good health.1472 According to Captain de la Sotta, he had visible signs of torture when the doctor evaluated him.1473 Initial Court Appearance 774. On 22 May 2018, at 8 a.m., four days after his detention, the DGCIM officers presented Luis de la Sotta and seven other individual before judge Claudia Carolina Pérez de Mogollón at the First Military Court of Control in Caracas. Captain de la Sotta requested a defence lawyer of his own choosing, but the court appointed a military public defender. 1474 775. Captain de la Sotta appeared in court in the same clothing he had been wearing when arrested. His clothes were stained with blood and body fluids. 1475 Captain de la Sotta pointed to the marks on his hands from the tight handcuffs and told the court, “I was tortured, abused and suffocated by DGCIM officers”. He declared his innocence. 1476 The military defence attorney requested Captain de la Sotta undergo a medical examination. Neither the military prosecutor nor the judge responded to the torture allegations raised in court. 776. The judge ordered Captain de la Sotta’s pre-trial detention in DGCIM Boleíta. Captain de la Sotta’s family was not informed that he had been brought to a hearing. 1477 Throughout his time in detention, he was denied contact with anyone outside the facility. Pre-trial detention in DGCIM Boleíta 777. After his initial court appearance on 22 May 2018, Captain de la Sotta was brought to DGCIM Boleíta for pre-trial detention. He spent 33 days incommunicado in a room that custodians called the “Crazy Room” (el Cuarto de los Locos) (see description above). 1478 Captain de la Sotta’s relatives made several attempts to visit him, but DGCIM officers informed them that detainees had to spend 30 days incommunicado as an “adaptation period”.1479 778. Captain de la Sotta was detained in solitary confinement. The custodians did not allow him to use the bathroom regularly, so he often slept in his own bodily waste. He was beaten and suffocated with a plastic bag. DGCIM officers made threats against his family. 1480 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 164 Mission Interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020. Act of initial appearance, criminal case file CJPM-TM1C-011-2018, on file with the Mission. Mission Interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020. Report N 129 DET 3109-2018, on file with the Mission. Mission Interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020. Mission interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020. Document C3DD02, on file with the Mission. Act of initial appearance, criminal case file CJPM-TM1C-011-2018, on file with the Mission. Mission interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020; Document C3DD02, on file with the Mission. Mission Interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020. Mission Interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020 and document C3DD02, on file with the Mission. See also, YouTube Video, Resistencia Caracas Oficial, Sara de la Sotta, madre del Capitán de Navío Luis Humberto de la Sotta, militar detenido, 3 July 2019, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tAdqHHRORY. Mission Interview with Molly de la Sotta in May 2020.