Experts from the United Nations said Tuesday they were alarmed and baffled by the two year extension on Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni Mora's house arrest.

They said the extension was made for unclear reasons that do not conform to Venezuelan law, which states that “serious grounds” must be present in order for a measure of personal coercion of house arrest to be extended.

“We are very concerned by the extension of the measure of preventative detention issued against Judge Afiuni Mora,” the experts said in a statement.

“It is unbelievable that the arbitrary detention of Judge Afiuni continues to be extended and it is imperative that she is released immediately,” stated El Hadji Malick Sow, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The WGAD designated the judge’s detion as “arbitrary” in 2010.

“Furthermore, it is unclear what would in this case be the “serious grounds” which, in conformity with Venezuela law, must be present in order for a measure of personal coercion of this kind to be extended,” he said.

On Dec. 13 the Public Prosecutor’s request to extend the measure of house arrest against Afiuni was granted, she had been imprisoned in December of 2009 when she had agreed with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and ordered the release of Eligio Cedeno, a businessman accused of evading currency controls. Cedeno was allowed to be released under Venezuelan law after spending more than two years in detainment awaiting trial, according to the Group.

The group says the Venezuelan government has not made public any reliable evidence that validates the charges of “ordinary corruption, abuse of authority, aiding escape and criminal association” against Afiuni. The Judge had been granted house arrest in February 2011 for emergency health reasons.

Afiuni refuses to enter a courtroom because she believes she will not get a fair hearing, according to a report by AP in November. She makes daily posts on twitter and calls herself a “judge kidnapped by order of [President Hugo] Chavez.”

On Thursday Afiuni once again criticized the Venezuelan President.

“He knows he made a mistake, but pride does not allow him to correct himself,” she tweeted while linking to a story on the UN statement on Tuesday.

Juan Méndez, the Special Rapporteur on Mendez also weighed in on the case.

“Honestly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand what Judge Afiuni is living through,” Méndez said. “The substitutive preventive measure of house arrest imposed a few months ago seemed to be a positive step,” said Méndez. “However, this latest decision represents an unacceptable worsening of her situation, particularly in light of her delicate physical and mental state.”

Gabriela Knaul, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers said the current detention shows “the independence of the judiciary is severely compromised in Venezuela. Judicial actors fear the same fate as Judge Afiuni if they dare to act against governmental interests.”