The Supreme Court, seized by the Venezuelan president, has for its part recalled that its decision to validate the result of the presidential election, contested by the opposition and part of the international community, will be “final”.
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Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims victory in the July 28 presidential election, called President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, August 10 “to end violence and persecution”The Supreme Court, seized by the latter, recalled for its part that its decision to validate the result of the presidential election, contested by the opposition and part of the international community, will be “without appeal”Most observers consider this Court to be subservient to power.
“Mr. Nicolas Maduro, I ask you on behalf of all Venezuelans to put an end to the violence and persecution and to immediately release all compatriots arbitrarily detained”launched on social networks Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has not been seen publicly for more than a week. “Demanding respect for our Constitution is not a crime, demonstrating peacefully to enforce the will of millions of Venezuelans is not a crime,” added the discreet diplomat, who had replaced as candidate the leader of the opposition Maria Corina Machado, declared ineligible.
The post-election unrest has left 24 people dead, according to human rights NGOs, and 2,200 people arrested, according to Nicolas Maduro, who reported two members of the security forces killed. The prisoners held in several centers in Caracas were to be transferred Saturday to two high-security prisons in Tocoron and Tocuyito, located respectively 100 and 200 km west of the capital.
The head of European Union diplomacy Josep Borrell said in a statement on Saturday that the “Respect for the will of the Venezuelan people remains the only way for Venezuela to restore democracy and resolve the current political and socio-economic crisis with guarantees for all”. “Harassment and threats against democratic opposition forces, journalists and media must stop”he added.
The prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation on Tuesday against the two opposition leaders for “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information, incitement to disobedience of the law, incitement to insurrection, criminal association”. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado had notably launched an appeal to the army to fall into line “on the side of the people”.
