DESPITE FOUR MONTHS OF ABDUCTION, RAPE, AND TORTURE STILL NO JUSTICE FOR VENEZUELAN WOMAN

IPPF/WHR launches www.JusticeForLinda.org campaign to urge Venezuelan courts to provide timely and fair trial

August 2, 2005, New York, NY- Four years after being kidnapped, raped, and tortured over a period of four months, Linda Loaiza is still recovering from the physical and emotional battering that she suffered.  After years of evasion, her captor and tormentor has still not been brought to justice.  The International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region, is launching an advocacy campaign to ensure that justice is done.

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.

“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.”

Carrerra Almoina, whose influential father was president of a major university in Caracas, 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.

Linda’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 had to go 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, astonishingly, ordered an investigation of Loaiza, her father, and sister for involvement in prostitution.

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.  Given the history of this case, there is reason for concern about whether justice will finally be served.

“Through our advocacy arm, www.JusticeForLinda.org, International Planned Parenthood is rallying its supporters here in the U.S. and throughout Latin America to write to the Venezuelan government to ensure a fair outcome,” noted Barroso.  “Linda’s personal tragedy should not become a judicial tragedy as well.”

The International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR) and its 46 member associations are committed to promoting the rights of women and men to decide freely the number and spacing of their children and to the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health. We provide more than 18 million services - from contraceptive counseling and supplies to HIV prevention, testing and treatment - to the neediest people in the region.

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For more information, please contact:  Gil Kulick (212) 214-0233/(646) 924-9960 cell or Dan Klotz (917) 438-4613/(347) 307-2866 cell