Falana had knocked the US on several occasions over its involvement in the arrest and detention of Alex Saab, a special envoy of the Venezuelan government who was arrested in Cape Verde.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has welcomed the release of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab from “illegal custody in the United States”.
Falana had knocked the US on several occasions over its involvement in the arrest and detention of Alex Saab, a special envoy of the Venezuelan government who was arrested in Cape Verde.
Saab was arrested on June 12, 2020, after his private jet made a stopover in Cape Verde on his way to Iran for a humanitarian mission on behalf of the Venezuelan government.
The businessman is caught up in a feud between Venezuela, his country, and the US.
The US put pressure on Cape Verde to arrest Saab with plans of extraditing him to face corruption charges.
But Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who appointed Saab as ambassador to the African Union (AU) had kicked against the move.
Mr Saab was released as part of a swap deal.
He was accused of laundering money for the Maduro government, which he denied.
Following his arrest in Cape Verde, Mr Saab was extradited to the US in 2021.
The Maduro government has long requested Mr Saab's release. It has described him as a "diplomat."
Reacting to his release in a statement signed on Thursday, Falana said, “We welcome the news of the release of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab from illegal custody in the United States. He was freed yesterday following a prisoner exchange deal between the United States and Venezuela.
“Alex Saab, a businessman and diplomatic envoy for the government of Venezuela, was arrested in June 2020 in Cape Verde on his way to Iran to secure shipments of food, fuel and medicines for Venezuela in a bid to overcome the illegal economic sanctions imposed by the United States against the Venezuelan people.
“In a landmark judgment delivered on March 21, 2021 the Ecowas Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria upheld our submissions and declared the arrest and detention of Saab illegal, ordered his immediate release from custody and awarded damages of $200,000 as compensation for abuse of his human rights. The application of Cape Verde to have the judgment set aside was dismissed by the Court.
“The United Nations Human Rights Committee also faulted the detention of Saab while the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights granted a provisional order to restrain Cape Verde from extraditing him to the United States pending the determination of the complaint of his human rights to dignity, life and freedom of movement.
“In defiance of the orders of the Ecowas Court and the international human rights bodies for the release of Saab, the United States forcefully seized him and flew him to Florida in October 2021. The diplomat has since been detained in the United States while facing trial for alleged money charges which he has consistently denied.
“Despite his diplomatic immunity and the order of the Ecowas Court for his release, Saab was detained for 16 months in Cape Verde and two years in Miami, Florida. However, based on the prisoners swapping between the States and Venezuela, Saab has regained his freedom and joined his family.”
Falana noted that during Mr Saab’s incarceration of over three years, he was “denied family visits and access to medical attention. But he stood his ground and rejected the offer to betray his country and the people of Venezuela”.
“We join family members and well-wishers in celebrating the freedom of Saab from illegal detention. We congratulate the Nicholas Maduro administration for the struggle to free the diplomat without compromising the sovereignty of Venezuela,” he said.