A/HRC/45/CRP.11 1046. While official numbers vary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that between July 2015 and March 2017, security forces detained 2,911 individuals.1857 One year after the official launching of the OLPs, the Minister of the Interior referred to 2,399 people detained for different crimes.1858 The NGO Provea has documented many more, reporting an estimated 15,946 arrests in the context of OLPs in 2015 alone.1859 The Mission has not been able to obtain information about how those detained were subsequently processed within the judicial system. 1047. The Mission had access to reliable data from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of 329 cases of detentions that occurred in more than 160 operations, involving 877 people who were allegedly detained in flagrante delicto, during OLPs between 12 July 2015 and 13 October 2016. Of the 877 people detained, 137 were women (16 per cent). The highest number of cases were recorded in Miranda state (22 per cent), Táchira (20.6 per cent) and the Metropolitan Area of Caracas (12.7 per cent).1860 1048. Many of the detainees were later charged with crimes that would have required prior investigation and thus security forces should have obtained a warrant prior to the arrest, 1861 which was not done. Of the 877 people detained in flagrante delicto, the most common crimes charged were: (1) resistance to authority, either alone or with other offences (26.8 per cent); (2) illegal possession of firearms, either alone or with other offences (25.7 per cent); (3) smuggling, in different forms (8.2 per cent); and/or (4) drug trafficking either alone or with other offences (7.6 per cent). There is no information available regarding the length of detention or the outcome of these cases. 1049. In the review of cases, the detainees were not informed of the reasons for their arrest, in violation of article 9 of the ICCPR and 44 (2) of the Constitution. The requirement that all arrested persons be informed of the reasons for the arrest is essential to enable arrestees seeking release, if they believe that the reasons given are invalid or unfounded. The information should include the general legal basis of the arrest, but also enough factual details to indicate the substance of the complaint.1862 In addition, the Mission documented cases of violence used during arrests. 1050. The Mission also documented temporary detentions of family members of victims who were killed, in particular women, children, and older persons, who were removed by force or detained for short periods in order to remove them from the houses where the killings took place. 1051. The security officials entered homes and seized items without a search warrant. There were consistent allegations by witnesses and victims that security forces destroyed furniture and installations, and stole items from the houses raided. This includes basic goods, such as food, as well as valuables, such as cash, cell phones and computers. A police officer who participated in 16 OLPs and was interviewed by a contact of the Mission said, “those who work in the OLPs have the privileges that […] it’s like a pirate act. If we end up here with a group of criminals and they had good cell phones and they had good […] they had economic resources, all of that is shared, they call it the ‘spoils of war’ among the OLP officers”. 1863 1052. In light of the above, the Mission considers that there are reasonable grounds to believe that security forces carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions during OLPs/OLHPs. However, further investigation should be carried out into the judicial cases of those detained 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 Public Prosecutor’s Office, actuaciones del Ministerio Público relacionadas con los OLP (julio 2015marzo 2017), available at: https://es.scribd.com/document/360500346/Informe-del-MinisterioPublico-sobre-OLP-2017#from_embedAc. Globovisión, González López aseguró que 82% de la población aprueba la OLP, 13 July 2016, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRKHlQWqigU. PROVEA (2016) Derecho a la Libertad Personal en Venezuela En Informe Anual de PROVEA 2015. Venezuela, 2016, available at: http://www.derechos.org.ve/pw/wp-content/uploads/Derecho-a-laLibertad-Personal.pdf. Data on file with the Mission. As per 1999 Constitution, art. 44. See CCPR/G/GC/35, para. 25. Document C4FF01, on file with the Mission. 207