(Being a press statement by the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN)
Dated 22 December, 2022
The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) is a campaign platform of Solidarity with Venezuela, is a coalition of progressives, socialist organisations, left parties, non-governmental organisation, trade union activists, Human Rights activists and social movements in Nigeria. We write to join international solidarity campaign to demand immediate and unconditional release of Venezuelan Special Envoy Alex Nain Saab Moran from Florida where he was currently detained illegally against his wish he was unlawfully abducted to the territory of the United States. We call for his release so he can return home to continue his good work for the Venezuelan people and be with his family.
On June 12th, 2020, Special Envoy Saab was unlawfully abducted and detained in the Republic of Cape Verde (“Cape Verde”), at the request of the United States with a Red Alert of INTERPOL issued on some else’s name.
This unprecedented action violates international law and customary law, of respecting the immunity for diplomats. No person deserved to be dealt with the way Diplomat Alex Saab has been treated in the last two years, we campaign for a fair world where people live without oppression and dignity.
So therefore, we stand with Mr Alex Saab in this trialling period. We call for end to the continued psychological torture of Alex Saab because he was on humanitarian missions to procure mechanisms to import medicines, food and other essential products to Venezuela.
The figure of Special Envoy granted him automatic diplomatic immunity, as established by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (arts. 14, 29 and 40). But the US thrown this overboard and continue illegal detention of Diplomatic Alex Saab.
The United States is worried about the success recorded by Alex Saab that’s why the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in July and September 2019 imposed coercive measures against the Venezuelan Diplomat and companies providing food, medicines and other essentials to Venezuela.
They also filed a lawsuit where he is accused of participating in the transfer of USD350 million for a housing construction project in Venezuela in 2011. However, the same transfer was investigated in Switzerland and the case was closed as there was no evidence to money laundering against the diplomat.
To us in VSCN, the action being taken against the Mr Alex Saab was badly politically motivated and from the imperialist empire in America, the administration of Donald Trump in order to give credit to their actions decided to move a warship stationed in Syria to the territory of Cape Verde to coerce all parties and prevent him from being released.
According to the New York Times, the ship cost the United States 52,000 USD dollars per day, equivalent 3 to 25 million dollars, and it was withdrawn as soon as the Venezuelan diplomat was unlawfully abducted to U.S. territory. We dare to say that the US government is responsible for illegal detention of Alex Saab, like Julian Assange.
We will not relent in the struggle for a better world and we will not keep silent in the face of crass injustice. We call on all genuine change seeking revolutionaries all over the world to join forces to compile pressure on the US government to end economical blockade against Venezuela and free Alex Saab and all other unjustly incarcerated by the US government. We will continue series of activities such as photo protests, picketing and press campaigns to demand immediate release of Mr Alex Saab.
We proclaim that the world can only be a better place if there are mutual respects for all human society. The world can be a better place if truly the real tenets of democracy can be abided by from all ends and territories!
Signed ;
Dimeji Macaulay;
Che Oyinatumba;
Ajayi Wiseman;
Akande Danie;
Salako Kayode
