The leader of one of Venezuela’s opposition parties, Leopoldo Lopez, has been charged with inciting violence in the country.
Lopez was already being held in custody, where he has been for the last month and a half, when the chief prosecutor announced the charges against him. The decision follows anti-government protests in the country in which 39 people have been killed and hundreds injured.
In response, members of the Popular Will part that Lopez leads protested for 24 hours, demanding his release. Despite the high emotions among a group of people that included Lopez’s wife, the demonstration remained peaceful.
The case against Lopez is that he encouraged his party members to engage in acts of civil unrest, including setting fire to public buildings. If he is convicted, his sentence could be as long as 14 years imprisonment.
About Kevin Sorkin
Pendragon International Media publish www.globalgovernmentforum.com, a community of senior government officials around the world. Global Government Forum is an important international network focusing on impartial, government news, analysis and best practice. The content addresses the real issues facing senior leaders in public service policy and administration today and aims to support them in developing public services for the future. Our aim is to help all organisations engage with this important community by improving understanding and strengthening relationships.
I am the founder of the Civil Service Awards and Civil Service Live, which are now established industry leading brands and extremely important events for government. I also launched and published Civil Service World, civilserviceworld.com and Civil Service World Research and Information bringing together the civil service community to enable communication, sharing of best practice, inspire and motivate the civil service community.
Over the years I have established relationships with the most senior officials in government and the private sector and have built a very strong and positive reputation across the industry.
