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The court argued that Ramos had failed to comply with an earlier injunction it had issued ordering the mayor to ensure people did not block roads in his municipality, and to remove any obstacles that prevented citizens from moving around freely. The decision was adopted after a 10-hour long hearing in which the court was responsible for both the \u201caccusation\u201d and \u201csentencing.\u201d The court\u2019s ruling cannot be appealed. The Supreme Court issued a judicial order to detain Ramos and stated he should be held at intelligence headquarters in Caracas.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ERamos, who had been notified that the hearing would take place that day, decided not to attend because he did not recognize the Supreme Court\u2019s jurisdiction to adopt such a decision, his wife, Carmen Jim\u00e9nez de Ramos, told Human Rights Watch. The municipality\u2019s legal counsel attended on his behalf, and Ramos found out about the court\u2019s ruling via the court\u2019s official Twitter account, she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed\u0022 data-type=\u0022image\u0022\u003E\n\n\n \n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed align-right embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-media embedded-entity-bundle-image embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable embed--right\u0022 xmlns:xlink=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\u0022\u003E\n \n\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \n \n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center info \u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/33421\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201709americas_venezuela_alfredoramos.jpg?itok=diol7ZQH 400w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201709americas_venezuela_alfredoramos.jpg?itok=hSi59F0N 946w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 width=\u0022946\u0022 height=\u00221086\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201709americas_venezuela_alfredoramos.jpg?itok=hSi59F0N\u0022 alt=\u0022Alfredo Ramos\u0022\u003E\n\n\n\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewBox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=250315#sprite-expand\u0022 \/\u003E\n \u003C\/svg\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__caption\u0022\u003EAlfredo Ramos\n\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFive minutes after the Supreme Court tweeted that it had sentenced Ramos, several official vehicles from the Bolivarian Services of National Intelligence (SEBIN) parked at the entrance of the municipality, Ramos\u2019 wife and daughter, as well as two other witnesses, told Human Rights Watch. At least 20 uniformed and armed men, most of whom had their faces covered, burst into Ramos\u2019 office. One of them stood on top of a desk holding a teargas canister, and told one of Ramos\u2019 daughters, who was there with her one-year-old son, to leave, the four witnesses said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed\u0022 data-type=\u0022image\u0022\u003ERamos refused to go with them until they showed a judicial order for his arrest, which the officers did not have, the four witnesses said. The agents eventually forced Ramos into an official vehicle and drove him to SEBIN headquarters in Barquisimeto, the state capital. His wife told Human Rights Watch that she was allowed to stay with him for several hours, until officers told her she could go home to pick up medicines and clothes for Ramos. When she returned, she was no longer able to see him, she said.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAt 7 am on July 29, Jim\u00e9nez was told that Ramos had been transferred to the airport, but only learned that he had arrived in Caracas when she received a picture of him there from an anonymous source, she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ERamos was unable to see his family for 26 days, nor his lawyers for 32 days. Every time they tried to visit, they were told that the director \u201chad not authorized the visit,\u201d his wife and daughter said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen Ramos\u2019 family finally saw him, he told them that he had spent two weeks in an office without any windows, sitting in a chair all day. Ramos was only allowed to lie down at night, on a matt on the floor. He is now being held in another cell with six people, and no bathroom, running water, or windows.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ERamos\u2019 family has been able to see him four times\u2014each time in a room with a guard present and they claim their conversations were being taped. The lawyers saw him twice\u2014once in a room with other inmates and lawyers, and the other in front of a guard.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the initial days of his detention, the family learned that Ramos, who has hypertension according to medical reports reviewed by Human Rights Watch, was having health complications through a handwritten note that he gave the family of another inmate detained with him. A cardiologist who visited Ramos on August 31, after an acute episode of hypertension, told the family that Ramos was in a delicate condition that required special testing, but the family was never given access to his medical report. Ramos has not had access to such tests, Jim\u00e9nez said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null},{"command":"insert","method":"prepend","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__309534__en","data":"","settings":null}]