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A Venezuelan woman's ordeal


Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images
Linda Loaiza Lopez on hunger strike, 30 August, 2004 in Caracas, with supporters.

Isabel M. Estrada Portales
Washington's Voz
08/05/2005

After four months of abduction, rape, and torture, came four years of a pilgrimage for justice in Venezuela 's judicial system, but Linda Loaiza is still recovering from the physical and emotional battering she suffered; and still waiting for the trial of her alleged tormentor.

Courtesy of International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR)
Upper Photo :
Linda before the abduction
Lower photo:
Linda at time of rescue
In July of 2001, Loaiza was rescued by police in Caracas , Venezuela , from the apartment of Luis Carrera Almoina, the accused perpetrator. She had been repeatedly raped and tortured; she was found in a state of severe malnutrition, with her earlobes destroyed, a nipple cut out, cigarette burns all over her body, multiple cranial fractures, and bruises and cuts on her face and genital area.

“I never met this man before. I didn't know him. He kidnapped me and he destroyed my entire body with his hands and feet. He was always there during those four months. He would leave for a couple of hours and come back. And the routine of torture would resume,” said Loaiza, from Caracas , Venezuela , in a phone interview with the Washington 's Voz.

“This incident occurred in Venezuela ,” said Carmen Barroso, Western Hemisphere Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, “but it is a horrible example of the immense difficulty faced by women in many other parts of the world when they seek justice in the face of violence and abuse.”

Carrera Almoina, who is now in jail awaiting trial, comes from a wealthy family and his father was president of the important Universidad Nacional Abierta, in Caracas . Carrera had been previously arrested for torturing his then-partner in 1999. After being detained and put under house arrest, Carrera Almoina attempted to flee with the help of his father. He was captured the next day, and his father was later charged with obstructing judicial action.

“We have that information, and we are going to see how to use it in building our case against him,” said in a phone interview Prosecutor Yoraco Bauza, from Caracas , who is working in the case with Prosecutor César Mirabal.

Loaiza's case was deferred by the Venezuelan justice system 29 times; 59 judges declined to prosecute the man accused of torturing her. More than three years later, Linda went on a thirteen-day hunger strike on the courthouse steps before the case finally went to trial, but on October 21, 2004, Carrera Almoina and his father were acquitted of all charges. The judge cited a “lack of evidence” and, ordered an investigation of Loaiza, her father, and sister for involvement in prostitution.

“Venezuelan law prescribes only a fifth of the normal sentence for violent acts if they are perpetrated against sex workers,” explains Gil Kulick, from the International Planned Parenthood Federation, an organization that has launched a campaign in support of Loaiza.

“This law is in violation of international conventions on violence against women. The law in effect condones these acts and treats these women as second-class citizens. It can be used against women, as it was in the first trial, as an argument for the defense. Any sexual predator can assert that his victim was a prostitute, and the focus of the trial then questions the woman's innocence.”

Loaiza denies the prostitution charges, which she terms “absurd.” “That has been their only defense strategy, not even requesting a reduced sentence, but turning the charges against me,” she says.

However, that strategy won't go too far, because according to the Prosecutor Bauza, that legal article was derogated long ago. “Let's remember that this is an old legal code. Many things are obsolete. That article is no longer in existence, because it was deemed a violation of the human rights and equal treatment of all citizens.”

According to Bauza, the defense's strategy is to say that things did not happen in the way Loaiza tells them. “They spoke about the prostitution ring, then they said that all happened with Loaiza's consent, but we are very confident we have more than sufficient evidence to counter those claims.”

Bauza expresses confidence in obtaining a guilty verdict, and the maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison. “There are ample possibilities,” Bauza said.

Loaiza appealed the decision and in April, after much outcry and protest, an appeals court annulled the ruling and called for a new trial. The new trial was initially slated to begin at the end of July, but the defense has already delayed its start twice.

The trial was to begin on Tuesday, but it was differed, according to Bauza, because Loaiza's attorney entered an opposition to the judge who they deemed biased. “We do consider the judge to be impartial. In fact, this judge has been rejected three times by the defense,” Bauza said.

Now the new trial is set for Monday, August 8.

Linda Loaiza has a foundation: Fundación Amigos de Linda Loaiza, and can be reached at pidojusticia2004@yahoo.com , Justice for Linda www.justiceforlinda.org