A/HRC/13/40/Add.1 seventeenth anniversary of the country’s independence, and Mr. Pulatzhon Usmonov was absolved of any criminal liability without any decision as to his guilt or innocence. 246. According to the Government, Mr. Akhroriddin Aliboev, Mr. Ulugbek Babadzhanov, Mr. Zanobiddin Zhuraev, Mr. Mirzokhid Mukhammadzhonov and Mr. Akhunov Akhror were never brought to the internal affairs office and have not been cited in the criminal case as suspects, defendants or witnesses. Furthermore, no criminal cases had been brought against A. Aliboev, A. Akhunov, U. Babazhanov, E. Isroilov, Z. Zhuraev, M. Mukhammadzhonov, K. Nabibullaev, A. Sharofidinov and P. Usmonov in the national courts. (c) Observations by the Special Rapporteur 247. The Special Rapporteur is grateful that the Government of Uzbekistan replied to the joint urgent appeal of 2 October 2009. X. Venezuela 1. Communication sent on 10 February 2009 (a) Allegations transmitted to the Government 248. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government information she had received regarding acts of religious intolerance and violence against members of the Catholic and Jewish communities in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 249. According to the allegations, on 22 January 2009, the Apostolic Nunciature was reportedly attacked when members of an organization called “La Piedrita” threw gas canisters into its house. Reportedly, the attackers also left pamphlets insulting Catholic leaders. It was reported that the attack may also be related to the housing of a student activist and opposition member by the Apostolic Nunciature. 250. On 30 January 2009, at around 10 p.m., fifteen unidentified armed men tied up a security guard at the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in the Maripérez district of Caracas and forced their way into the synagogue. They threw Torah scrolls on the floor, stole the Synagogue’s computers and spray-painted the walls with anti-Semitic graffiti, such as “Damn the Jews”, “Jews out of here”, “Death to all” and “Israel assassins”. Reportedly, this was the second time in a month that the Synagogue was vandalized with graffiti depicting anti-Semitic messages. In addition, earlier in January 2009, the message “Property of Islam” had been sprayed on its walls. President Hugo Chavez publicly condemned the attack on the Synagogue and promised representatives of Venezuela’s Jewish community that those responsible would be brought to justice. On 7 and 8 February 2009, reportedly seven police officers and four civilians were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack. (b) Respuesta del Gobierno de Venezuela del 10 de marzo de 2009 251. En su respuesta, el Gobierno de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela confirma las alegaciones concernientes a los actos de intolerancia religiosa y violencia contra miembros de las comunidades católica y judía mencionados en la comunicación del 10 de febrero de 2009. 252. En relación con el caso de la comunidad judía, el Gobierno informa que después de los actos vandálicos contra la Sinagoga, el día viernes 6 de febrero de 2009, los representantes de la comunidad judía internacional se reunieron con el Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela para hablar sobre el suceso. En el acto estuvieron el secretario general del Congreso Judío Mundial y el 58