The prosecutor overseeing the case of jailed Venezuela opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has denounced the trial as a “farce” and fled the country, citing pressure from the government of populist President Eduardo Maduro.
“I decided to leave Venezuela with my family because of the pressure that I was under from the executive branch and my superiors to continue to defend the false evidence that was used to convict Leopoldo Lopez,” said Franklin Nieves, a top prosecutor in Mr. Lopez’s trial, in a statement, according to an English translation.
Mr. Nieves called the trial a “farce” substantiated by “false evidence” in a four-minute video in Spanish posted Oct. 23 on YouTube. Mr. Nieves was one of two top prosecutors during the trial, in which Mr. Lopez was convicted and sentenced to 13 years of prison in early September.
“I want to do the right thing and tell the truth. I want you to be brave, raise your voices and express your discontent with the pressure exerted by our superiors, who threaten to fire us or putting us in jail, and that series of absurd arguments that they always use to threaten us to carry out their whims,” Mr. Nieves said.
Mr. Nieves’ testimony and flight is another blow to Mr. Maduro’s government as the leftist leader trails behind the opposition leader in the polls in the approach to the December parliamentary elections. The ruling party trails in the polls, putting in jeopardy the hopes of Mr. Maduro, a protege of the late anti-U.S. leader Hugo Chavez, to stay in office through the end of his term.
• Meghan Bartlett can be reached at mbartlett@washingtontimes.com.
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