Venezuela to investigate opposition leaders

[Pelican Press 0]

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Venezuela to investigate opposition leaders

Venezuela is launching a ********* probe against the opposition leaders contesting last month’s election for inciting police and military officials to break the law, the country’s top prosecutor says, as security forces target people they say committed violent ******* during protests.

The announcement by Attorney-General Tarek Saab followed a letter posted on social network X by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and leader Maria Corina Machado calling for security forces to “stand by the people” and respect the results of the election they say they won.

President Nicolas Maduro’s assertion that he won a third term in the July 28 vote has triggered ****** protests from Venezuelans across the country over the last week, demanding that Maduro step down and a Gonzalez win be honoured.

Venezuelan security forces have begun targeting alleged perpetrators of violent ******* during the protests, in an operation informally called “knock-knock” that advocacy groups say has left protesters fearful.

Three advocacy groups told Reuters security forces are working intensely to capture protesters, including minors, who they say are not being provided with lawyers and who have in some cases been charged with terrorism.

Maduro and other officials have touted “knock-knock” as a means of targeting those behind ********* at the protests, who they have described as “fascist **********”.

“Operation knock-knock is the name given by certain government spokespeople, informally, to the escalating repression,” said Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of legal advocacy group Foro Penal.

“It’s called knock-knock because that’s the bang on the door you get in the early hours of the morning,” he said.

Venezuela’s electoral authority, who the opposition says favours the ruling socialists, has said Maduro was re-elected with around 51 per cent of the vote, beating Gonzalez.

The opposition says its own tally shows Gonzalez likely received 67 per cent of the vote, winning by a margin of nearly four million votes, and earning more than double Maduro’s support, a result in line with independent exit polls.

Russia and China – among others – have congratulated Maduro as the election winner, but most Western countries are calling for the full release of voting results.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was “overwhelming evidence” of the victory of Gonzalez and that Washington recognised him as the winner.

Maduro told supporters on Saturday that some 2000 people had been arrested during the protests.

Foro Penal has confirmed 1010 arrests and US-based Human Rights Watch has reported at least 20 people have been *******.

In the ****** letter Gonzalez and Machado wrote: “We are appealing to the conscience of the military and the police and asking them to stand at the side of the people and of their own families.”

But the military has long been loyal to Maduro.

“I’m willing to do anything and I am counting on you to ensure order prevails,” Maduro told them in a broadcast on state television on Sunday.

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#Venezuela #investigate #opposition #leaders

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