A/HRC/45/CRP.11 specialized laboratories. The body metabolizes scopolamine quickly; traces can disappear after two days in the blood and five days in the urine.1258 627. After the initial court appearance, Mr. Requesens’ lawyer was denied access to the trial record until 17 September 2018.1259 No information regarding the arrest of Rafaela Requesens appeared in the case file of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 1260 Judicial Process 628. The preliminary hearing was deferred eight times and suspended 11 times, either at the court’s request, or because SEBIN failed to bring Mr. Requesens to the court to comply with the summons.1261 629. Mr. Requesens had been detained for 328 days when the preliminary hearing was held on 1 July 2019, exceeding the 65 days legal limit.1262 Judge Carol Padilla declared the defence arguments inadmissible. She approved the charges and sent the case to trial. She ordered that Mr. Requesens remain in detention. 630. On 2 December 2019, the trial of Mr. Requesens and 17 co-defendants began at the First of First Instance for Trial with jurisdiction over terrorism-related crimes with Judge Henith Carolina López presiding. According to the Constitution, Mr. Requesens should have been tried by the Full Chamber of the Supreme Court.1263 The trial was ongoing at the time of writing. 631. The Mission contacted the Government requesting a status update in this case on 7 August 2020. At the time of writing, it had not received a response. 632. On 28 August 2020, Mr. Requesens was released from SEBIN Helicoide and placed under house arrest.1264 Mr. Requesens’ lawyer informed the Mission that, at the time of writing, the defence team had not receivd written notification of this decision. The lawyer explained that Mr. Requesens will wear a GPS tracking device and be under 24 hour police surveillance.1265 Findings 633. Based on the facts above, the Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that arbitrary arrest and detention were committed against Mr. Requesens. The Mission has also reasonable grounds to believe that the conditions of detention in El Helicoide and the treatment Mr. Requesens was subjected to in detention amount to a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 634. SEBIN officers belonging to the strategic research and immediate action units and under the command of SEBIN Director Gustavo Enrique González López were involved in the arrest and detention of Mr. Requesens. 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 Mission Interview with Dr E.Harmoush, US board-certified doctor of emergency medicine, eligible in toxicology, on 14 May 2020. Mission Interview with Joel García on 11 May 2020. Mission Interview with Rafaela Requesens on 18 May 2020; Mission Interview with Joel Garcia on 11 May 2020; See also YouTube Video, El Pitazo, “Abogado de Requesens informó que tuvo acceso al expediente del caso, después de 30 días”, 17 September 2018, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0vaROUzSjw. Mission Interview with Joel Garcia on 11 May 2020. Article 236 of the Criminal Procedure Code foresees a period of 45 days following judicial deprivation of liberty during which the prosecution may present its accusation. Article 309 establishes that once the accusation has been presented, the preliminary hearing should take place within 20 days. Mission Interview with Joel Garcia on 11 May 2020. Criminal Procedure Code, art. 242, para. 1. Mission Interview with Joel Garcia 29 August 2020, see also CNN Español, Venezuela: excarcelan al diputado opositor Juan Requesens, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXbSo9ezx1g, see also https://twitter.com/RRequesens/status/1299493567329636352?s=20, https://twitter.com/TVVnoticias/status/1299478402035077120?s=20 139