functions was to regularize the registration of children in the civil registers so that
they might later obtain an identity card. This procedure took place on the basis of an
authorization by a civil court.
2.2
In 1995, the complainant discovered that some Chinese nationals had obtained
Venezuelan identity cards and passports by using forged documents, such as copies of
registration decisions bearing her signature and stamp and the stamp of the Civil
Court. The complainant reported this fact to the Attorney-General of the Republic for
the latter to institute an investigation to determine who was responsible for the
forgery. On 22 February 1995, the complainant filed a complaint with Caracas
Criminal Court of First Instance No. 15. In 1996, she requested a judicial or
eyewitness inspection of the National Identification Office (ONI) and of the files of
the Aliens’ Department (DEX), where the forged documents were found. The
inspection was never carried out because, according to the complainant, the heads of
the two bodies in question were linked to the Convergencia political party, which
received large amounts of money for granting Venezuelan nationality to Chinese
nationals.
2.3
In March 1997, the complainant was dismissed from the Office of the
Attorney-General of the Republic with no explanation, but still continued with the
investigation. From then on, she started receiving threats by telephone and
anonymous threats pushed under her door. Her daughter was the victim of a
kidnapping attempt and her husband was brutally pistol whipped on the head and
back. She was also warned that she had to stop investigating and filing complaints.
2.4
In August 1997 and as a result of what had happened, the complainant and her
family moved from Caracas to Maracaibo. In December 1997, the complainant’s car
was stolen and later burned. She was also harassed by telephone and told that, if she
filed any more complaints, she was the one who would be accused of being
responsible for the forgeries. As a result, she and her family fled to the city of
Maracay in January 1998. That was when they decided to sell everything they owned
and leave the country for Sweden.
2.5
The complainant and her family applied for political asylum in Sweden
on 19 March 1998. The Swedish National Migration Board rejected the application
on 24 August 1998, claiming that the facts did not in any way constitute grounds for
asylum in Sweden and that, in addition, the complainant could prove her innocence
through legal channels. An appeal against that decision was submitted to the Aliens’
Commission, which upheld the initial decision on 3 March 2000. An application for
inhibition was later filed with the Aliens’ Commission, but it was denied on
14 March 2000.
The complaint:
3.
The complainant claims that there are substantial grounds for believing that, if
she is returned to Venezuela, the persecution against her will continue and she will be
prosecuted for denouncing corrupt politicians in a legal system where there is no
guarantee of being able to prove that she is innocent of the forgeries. She also claims
that the security forces continue to torture and ill-treat detainees both mentally and
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