Venezuela prosecutor flees to Florida, says opposition leader's trial was fixed
Defense lawyers and relatives of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez are demanding his nearly 14-year sentence this week following revelations by one of his prosecutors that the trial was a sham.
Mr. Lopez, convicted in September for inciting violence in last year鈥檚 antigovernment protests, has already spent more than 19 months in prison.
鈥淭his was a totally political trial which should be nullified. All of Leopoldo L贸pez鈥檚 human rights he was not able to present any witnesses or evidence,鈥� prosecutor Franklin Nieves told The Wall Street Journal this week in his first interview since fleeing to Florida with his family. Mr. Nieves is requesting 聽in the US, the Associated Press reports.
The Nieves disclosure 鈥渙ffered confirmation for what the country鈥檚 opposition and international observers believed from the day Mr. L贸pez surrendered to police in February of last year,鈥� reports The WSJ. 鈥淸T]hat his arrest was a political move by [President Nicol谩s] Maduro鈥檚 government as part of a broad bid to tamp down dissent, just as nationwide anti-government protests were kicking off.鈥�
Only one witness was allowed to speak on Lopez鈥檚 behalf at his trial, whereas nearly 100 testimonies against him were brought by the government, 海角大神 reports.
Nieves鈥� revelation puts the government in a precarious situation in the leadup to December midterm elections. The election is the聽 the 30 months since former President Hugo Ch谩vez died that the ruling party is not doing well in the polls, according to University of Glasgow professor I帽aki Sagarzazu, writing on the Venezuela Politics and Human Rights blog. Nieves鈥� desertion and apology are likely to fuel Venezuela鈥檚 political crisis.
President Maduro鈥檚 popularity has plummeted along with oil prices. Venezuela faces widespread oil shortages and one of the highest inflation rates in the world, a result of poor management of the oil-rich economy. The government has engaged in nationalistic strategies to win support in recent months, like closing the border with Colombia and reigniting territorial claims in Guyana. Lopez鈥檚 conviction was an effective way for the government to discredit opposition leaders.
Venezuela鈥檚 Attorney General Luisa Ortega denied Nieve鈥檚 claims that he was pressured to provide false evidence in Lopez鈥檚 trial.
"At the state prosecutors' office we don't pressure anyone," Ms. Ortega said in a televised statement, adding that Nieves鈥� allegations were not grounds to overturn Lopez鈥檚 verdict.
She also said that for abandoning his post, reports The BBC.
On Monday, Nieves posted another video on Venezuelan news site La Patilla outlining how the Lopez at a previous antigovernment protest, but had failed. He has promised to continue releasing evidence that Lopez was targeted and steamrolled by the government.
This isn鈥檛 the first time a has spoken out against a Chavista administration, which many critics say controls the justice system and uses it as a tool of intimidation, Reuters reports. A supreme court judge fled the country in 2012, later charging that the government "systematically interven[ed] in the courts for political ends," Reuters reports.
In Nieves' first video, which went online last week, he appealed to in Venezuela to stand up for justice, The New York Times reports. 鈥淚 invite you to tell the truth as I am doing now. I want to do the right thing, stop being afraid and tell the truth. I want you to be brave, raise your voices.鈥�
