Fernando Albán Salazar

Fernando Alberto Albán Salazar (American Spanish: [feɾˈnando alˈβeɾto alˈβan salaˈsaɾ], 1 October 1962 – 8 October 2018) was a Venezuelan–Colombian activist, lawyer, politician, and prominent figure within the Justice First opposition party. Albán served as a councilman of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas from 2012 until his death in office in 2018. He died while he was detained in the headquarters of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) in Plaza Venezuela, Caracas. Although government officials reported his death as a suicide, his friends, family, opposition political parties and Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, argue that the councilor's death was murder.[2][3][4]

Not to be confused with Fernando Coto Albán.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Albán and the second or maternal family name is Salazar.
Fernando Albán Salazar

Libertador Bolivarian Municipality Councilman
In office
16 December 2012 – 8 October 2018
Personal details
Born
Fernando Alberto Albán Salazar

(1962-10-01)1 October 1962
Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia[1]
Died8 October 2018(2018-10-08) (aged 56)
Caracas, Venezuela
Political partyJustice First
Alma materCentral University of Venezuela

Personal life and early career

Albán was born in Colombia, and relocated to Venezuela at the age of four. At the time of his death, he held citizenship in both countries.[5] He was a devout Catholic,[6] and had worked with the Archdiocese of Caracas on many charity projects.[6]

Albán, a lawyer who specialized in labor law, received his law degree from Central University of Venezuela.[7] He served as the national secretary of the Justice First trade union association.[7] He was elected to the Capital District's Libertador Bolivarian Municipality council in the 2012 regional elections, winning the election with 6,170 votes and representing Circuit 3 on the council.[7]

Albán with his wife, Meudy, and their two children, Fernando and María, maintained a residence in New York at the time of his death.[8]

Arrest

Albán traveled to New York City for the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, as part of a Justice First opposition delegation led by Julio Borges. Albán, Borges, and other members of the delegation had meetings with foreign dignitaries and other groups attending the assembly.[4] Albán was detained by Venezuelan authorities at Simón Bolívar International Airport on Friday, 5 October 2018, upon his return to the country.[4] No reason for his arrest was given, and no details were provided of where he was being held, until after his death.[9] The BBC reported that people close to him did not believe the official reason for arrest, instead saying that Albán was arrested for presenting information about human rights violations in Venezuela during the assembly.[6] While detained, Albán was pressured by the Maduro government to testify against Borges about the Caracas drone attack; he refused, and told this to his family and lawyers when they spoke to him.[10][11]

Tarek William Saab, prosecutor general for the Maduro administration, later stated that Albán was arrested because of "evidence of 2,000 chats with conspiratorial themes".[12] The number has also been reported as 200, and the chats were defined as conversations found on Albán's personal mobile phone.[13]

Death
Albán's hearse and funeral procession

Albán was taken into SEBIN custody after his arrest, and was said after his death to be a suspect for the Caracas drone attack that had occurred two months earlier. He was seen by lawyer Joel García on Sunday after his arrest on Friday, but was reported dead on Monday, 8 October. The government states that he took his own life by jumping from a tenth floor window either whilst he was waiting to be transferred (Interior Minister Néstor Reverol's account) or whilst going to the bathroom (Saab's account)[14][15] at around midday.[15] According to anonymous sources that Julio Borges says are official, Albán was dead before he was thrown out of a window.[6] According to William Jiménez, former coordinator of national investigations of the Caracas morgue, the autopsy revealed that water was found in Albán's lungs and Néstor Reverol ordered the report to be edited.[16]

This narrative is widely disputed.[17] Efecto Cocuyo noted the differences in official stories, and quoted former SEBIN prisoners explaining that detainees are always escorted to the bathroom, opening further doubts, as the bathroom version was the first explanation given.[15] Lawyers who knew the building confirmed that there are no windows in the bathroom and that all of the windows are locked, so Albán could not have opened one himself.[6] His death, called murder by many, prompted riots across Venezuela and received worldwide media attention.[17][2]

A memorial was held at the National Assembly building the day after his death; his body was immediately released but contained within a flag-draped coffin.[10] He was buried on Wednesday, 10 October.[18] His family watched his funeral on video from their residence in New York.[19] His devout Catholic faith is cited by friends, colleagues, and the conference of Catholic bishops of Venezuela as a reason to not believe the official story regarding his death, because he had too much respect for God to consider taking his own life.[20]

Investigations

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an investigation into Albán's death, and planned to include it in a wider investigation into human rights abuses in the country.[17] The European Union also asked for an independent investigation.[18] Tarek William Saab, Venezuelan prosecutor general, said that he would investigate the death, but classified it as a suicide. García pointed out in response that a death can not be classified as suicide without an autopsy and investigation, and requested to be present at the autopsy.[17] García was not present at the secret autopsy supposedly performed shortly before burial; Saab announced that the autopsy found that Albán died of blunt force trauma.[18] It was later reported that there were two different death certificates, the first issued by a community doctor without the credentials to do so, and the other by a supposed doctor using a stolen identity.[21]

The opposition government in Venezuela asked that Colombia perform the investigation, so that it would be unbiased.[22] Garcia suggested that since Albán retained his Colombian citizenship after moving to Venezuela, Colombia could have more legal rights to pursue an investigation; the international ramifications of the event were heightened when Albán's place of birth and heritage (his parents and ancestors are all Colombian) were made public knowledge.[23]

Response

With his body concealed, the public became concerned that Albán had been tortured, which was supported by allegations from the Venezuelan opposition government, including Borges directly. A demonstration was held outside the city mortuary for the release of his body, with fears he would be cremated before anyone could examine it.[10] The United Nations suggested that the Venezuelan government and intelligence service can be held responsible regardless of how Albán died, as officials are "obligated to ensure Albán’s safety while in their custody".[17] Article 44 of the Constitution of Venezuela says that the State is responsible for protecting the lives of its prisoners.[15]

Venezuelan opposition deputy Juan Miguel Matheus gave a speech describing the torture of Albán, saying that he would have been electrocuted and asphyxiated.[24] Luisa Ortega Díaz – the exiled Venezuelan Chief Justice – announced her understanding that Albán died of suffocation while being tortured by a bag over his head during interrogation.[6] The United States has also said it believes Albán was tortured then killed.[18] France called for an investigation into the "suspicious" death and summoned the Venezuelan ambassador to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on Thursday, 11 October.[25][26] Spain took similar actions, questioning the Venezuelan ambassador in Madrid.[10] Multiple foreign countries suggested that the Maduro government tortured Albán.[10][17][18] Saab denied all claims of torture, calling them a "rotten lie".[27][20]

Candlelight protests, public memorials and vigils were held in Caracas, particularly outside the SEBIN buildings, to denounce the murder.[14] Supporters marched in Albán's funeral procession, with some holding signs with the slogan Yo me niego a rendirme (I refuse to give up), recalling the last speech of Juan Requesens before his detention.[27]

The United States Department of State issued a statement in April 2019 highlighting Albán's death as an example of the Maduro administration human rights abuses, stating:

In October 2018, Caracas Councilman Fernando Alban traveled to New York to denounce the Maduro regime's brutality on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Upon his return to Venezuela on October 5, Maduro's secret police arrested him at the airport. He died in custody a few days later when he mysteriously fell from a 10th floor window of a maximum-security prison in Caracas.[28]

gollark: We just synchronise state over certain backchannels.
gollark: It *is* bee bee apio, yes.
gollark: AQA assembly language is some sort of weird ARM derivative with 13 registers and 1024 words of RAM.
gollark: So the obvious solution is to save time and compile into it.
gollark: We are doing assembly programming in computer science and I dislike their language.

References
  1. "Concejal que murió en Venezuela era Colombiano". El País (Colombia) (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  2. "Así titularon medios internacionales la muerte de Fernando Albán". El Nacional. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  3. "Las reacciones por la muerte del concejal venezolano, Fernando Albán". El Mundo. El Espectador. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  4. Smith, Scott; Sanchez, Fabiola (8 October 2018). "Venezuela: Caracas opposition councilman dies in jail". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  5. "Confirman que concejal Fernando Albán nació en Colombia". NTN24. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  6. Olmo, Guillermo D. (10 October 2018). "3 incógnitas que rodean la muerte del dirigente opositor venezolano Fernando Albán". BBC News Mundo. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  7. "Conozca la historia de vida del concejal y abogado Fernando Albán Salazar". El Carabobeño. 10 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  8. "Esposa e hijos de Fernando Albán: 'estás en el cielo, cuidándonos como siemprel". noticiaaldia.com (in Spanish). 9 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. Gibbs, Stephen (10 October 2018). "Maduro critic Fernando Albán falls to death from 10th floor". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  10. Smith, Scott and Fabiola Sanchez (9 October 2018). "Venezuela's leadership condemned after dissident's death". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  11. "A Fernando Albán lo presionaron para acusar a Julio Borges, afirma uno de sus abogados – Efecto Cocuyo". Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). 9 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  12. "Saab: Se encontraron 2.000 chats de Albán con actitudes conspiradoras". El Nacional (in Spanish). 14 October 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  13. "Saab revela que concejal Albán se encontraba en una oficina administrativa del Sebin antes de morir – Efecto Cocuyo". Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). 14 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  14. "Drone attack suspect 'jumped to his death'". BBC News. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  15. "Conozca las 10 claves de la muerte del concejal Fernando Albán". Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). 11 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  16. Lozano Daniel (10 October 2018). "El opositor venezolano que según el chavismo se suicidó 'tenía agua en los pulmones'". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  17. "Fernando Albán: UN to investigate death in custody of Venezuelan politician". The Guardian. Caracas: Associated Press. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  18. "US accuses Venezuela spies of 'involvement' in suspicious death". www.aljazeera.com. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  19. "A la distancia, la familia de Fernando Albán vela al concejal". CNN (in Spanish). 10 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  20. "A Venezuelan dissident dies in custody, and questions emerge". The New York Times. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  21. "Abogado de Fernando Albán denunció que existen dos actas de defunción con firmas distintas". Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  22. "Asamblea Nacional pedirá al Gobierno de Colombia investigar la muerte de Fernando Albán". El Universal (in Spanish). 15 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  23. "Concejal que se habría 'suicidado' en Venezuela nació en Colombia". El Tiempolanguage=es-CO. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  24. "Fernando Albán fue torturado con asfixia y electricidad, denunció diputado Juan Miguel Matheus". Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). 9 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  25. "France summons Venezuela ambassador over 'suspicious' death". VOA. Associated Press. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  26. l, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères. "Venezuela – Summoning of the Venezuelan Ambassador to France to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (11.10.2018)". France Diplomatie :: Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  27. Orozco, Jose and Andrew Rosati (10 October 2018). "Venezuela draws condemnation over opposition councilman's death". Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  28. Altuve, Armando (15 April 2019). "Estados Unidos: Maduro viola sistemáticamente los derechos humanos y la dignidad de venezolanos" [United States: Maduro sistematically violates human rights and dignity of Venezuelans] (in Spanish). El Pitazo. Referencing "Nicolas Maduro: Corruption and chaos in Venezuela" (Press release). United States Department of State. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
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