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American court opens historic hearing into Venezuela rape and torture case

Author: Mariana Zuñiga

In: The Guardian, 2018

This article describes the case of Linda Loaiza López Soto, who was kindapped and repeatedly raped and tortured by her abductor for months in 2001, when she was 18 years old, after over 16 years of struggling for justice and exhausting all avenues in Venezuela. Her case was heard by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It was the first case related to gender-based violence in Venezuela to be judged by the court. On November 16, 2018, in a decision with potential implications for survivors around the world, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the State of Venezuela is responsible for the torture and sexual slavery of a young woman, who had spent half her life fighting for justice.

See also https://womensenews.org/2018/11/after-17-years-venezuelan-survivor-finally-wins-justice/

For more legal details on the case see https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2019/12/05/gender-based-violence-as-torture-the-case-of-linda-loaiza-lopez-soto/

Available online at:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/06/us-human-rights-court-landmark-hearing-venezuela-rape-torture-case-linda-loaiza