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Venezuelan Opposition
Leader Leopoldo López Sentenced to Prison Over Protest
By WILLIAM NEUMANSEPT. 10, 2015
Photo
Leopoldo
López in February. Credit Juan Barreto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
CARACAS, Venezuela — A judge on
Thursday found the Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo
López guilty of inciting violence and other charges stemming from his
leading role in a large antigovernment protest, according to government
television reports.
Mr. López, a Harvard-educated former mayor of a
wealthy section of Caracas, was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison, the
television reports said.
Critics said the trial was politically motivated
and lacked basic guarantees of due process. Lawyers for Mr. López said they
were barred from presenting any witnesses or evidence at the trial.
“This has been a farce,” said José Miguel Vivanco,
Americas director of Human Rights Watch, speaking
by telephone from Washington. “It’s a kind of a caricature of a judicial
procedure and in violation of fundamental principles of due process, of
presumption of innocence.”
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The courts here have long been criticized for a
lack of independence, and decisions have closely hewed to the dictates of the
governing party under President Nicolás Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo
Chávez.
Mr. Maduro frequently calls Mr. López a monster during
televised speeches.
“This is something that happens when you have no
independent judiciary,” Mr. Vivanco said.
The charges against Mr. López, the leader of a
small opposition party called Popular Will, stem from a large antigovernment
protest on Feb. 12 of last year, which began with a peaceful march and rally.
But after most demonstrators left, including Mr.
López, a few hundred protesters lingered, throwing rocks and firebombs at
police officers, soldiers and government supporters, in a seesaw street battle.
A government supporter and a student protester were
fatally shot. Demonstrators threw rocks at a building occupied by the national
prosecutor’s office, breaking second-story windows; several police cars were
set on fire.
Mr. Maduro and other government officials quickly
blamed Mr. López for the violence, although he had repeatedly called for
nonviolent protest.
Mr. López turned himself in several days later, and
he has been held ever since in a military prison. He was charged with arson,
vandalism, inciting violence and hatred and being part of a criminal
organization.
The case has drawn international attention and
shined a light on the increasingly repressive actions of Mr. Maduro’s
government as the country sinks deeper into economic and political crisis.
Last year, a working group of the United Nations
office of the high commissioner for human rights determined that the detentions
of Mr. López and another opposition politician, Daniel Ceballos, were
arbitrary, and it called for their immediate release.
This year the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights expressed concern over lack of due process in the prosecution of Mr.
López and Mr. Ceballos. The United States has repeatedly called for Mr. López
to be released and sharply criticized his arrest and trial. Secretary of State
John Kerry raised the case in a telephone call this week with the Venezuelan
foreign minister, Delcy Rodríguez, officials in Washington said.
On Thursday evening, Roberta Jacobson, assistant
secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, wrote in a Twitter post that
she was “deeply troubled” by Mr. López’s conviction.
Earlier in the day, outside the courthouse,
witnesses said that pro-government demonstrators had thrown rocks and bottles
at a group of Mr. López’s supporters. One López sympathizer collapsed and died,
apparently of a heart attack, according to witnesses.
At a rally of supporters last night, Mr. López’s
wife, Lilian Tintori, said that after the judge announced the verdict her
husband approached her, took her hand and said, “Give a message to Venezuela: ‘Stay
calm.’ ”
María Eugenia Díaz contributed reporting
A version of this article appears in print on
September 11, 2015, on page A13 of the New York edition with the headline:
Venezuelan Opposition Leader Is Sentenced to Prison Over a Protest . Order Reprints| Today's
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SOURCE / LINK: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2015/09/1676296-fundador-do-pt-apresentara-pedido-de-impeachment-de-dilma.shtml
A “PT”-Workers’ Party
Founder ask for the destitution of the Brazilian President of the Republic
SOURCE / LINK: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2015/09/1676296-fundador-do-pt-apresentara-pedido-de-impeachment-de-dilma.shtml
A “PT”-Workers’ Party Founder ask for the destitution of the Brazilian President of the Republic
Alan Marques - 31.jan.12 / “Folha de São Paulo” Newspaper
Helio Bicudo, one of the founders of the PT, which calls for the impeachment of President Rousseff
GUSTAVO URIBE
DEBORAH ÁLVARES
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01/09/2015 11h46 - 13h50 Last Updated
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Founder of
the PT, the São Paulo attorney Bicudo, 93 years old, presented on Tuesday (1)
the House of Representatives impeachment against President Rousseff (PT).
The document
is addressed to the President of the Legislative House, Eduardo Cunha
(PMDB-RJ), and was filed earlier this afternoon by the daughter of lawyer,
Maria Lucia Bicudo, and the lawyer Janaina Paschoal, which also sign the request.
Because of his age and his health, the lawyer not involved in the delivery of the document. In 2010, he suffered a stroke (cerebrovascular accident) and remained hospitalized in São Paulo.
According to the daughter of Bicudo, the initiative which came from the lawer himself and has nothing to do with political parties or movements in favor of impeachment of the president.
Because of his age and his health, the lawyer not involved in the delivery of the document. In 2010, he suffered a stroke (cerebrovascular accident) and remained hospitalized in São Paulo.
According to the daughter of Bicudo, the initiative which came from the lawer himself and has nothing to do with political parties or movements in favor of impeachment of the president.
In the
letter, the founder of PT states that the country was "plunged into deep
crisis" and that the current economic situation is, in fact, a moral
crisis.
He argues that the president
has committed the crime of responsibility and lists, among other reasons for
his removal, so-called allegedly
breaking the law with a series of measures popularly called "creative
accounting".
," the federal government
allegedly
breaking the law with a series of measures popularly called (“pedaladas
fiscais”) "creative accounting" postponing the payments and use public banks to cover the debts.
"There was an intention
to transmit a false idea to the nation (and also to international investors)
that Brazil would be economically well and therefore would be able to maintain
the programs in favor of the most vulnerable classes" he said.
The document also cites the Money Laundering Federal Police Investigation and the purchase of the Pasadena refinery by Petrobrás and says that the Federal Police have investigated people close to the president, there was the deconstruction of his "aura of competent and unblemished professional, created by marketers highly paid ".
He still remembers request of the vice president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Gilmar Mendes, to the Attorney-General to ascertain any crimes that may lead to a public prosecution.
"The Superior Electoral Court in the long and thorough process, has recorded numerous frauds, true embezzlement, initiated to ensure the re-election of the President of the Republic, with Gilmar Mendes adduced minister that if he knew previously of what you know today, not campaign accounts would be approved, "he said.
According to him, before the facts presented, it reinforced the understanding that the president “acted intentionally " because she "always show very aware of all the questions related to the energy sector, as well as those related to the economic and financial area ".
The document also cites the Money Laundering Federal Police Investigation and the purchase of the Pasadena refinery by Petrobrás and says that the Federal Police have investigated people close to the president, there was the deconstruction of his "aura of competent and unblemished professional, created by marketers highly paid ".
He still remembers request of the vice president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Gilmar Mendes, to the Attorney-General to ascertain any crimes that may lead to a public prosecution.
"The Superior Electoral Court in the long and thorough process, has recorded numerous frauds, true embezzlement, initiated to ensure the re-election of the President of the Republic, with Gilmar Mendes adduced minister that if he knew previously of what you know today, not campaign accounts would be approved, "he said.
According to him, before the facts presented, it reinforced the understanding that the president “acted intentionally " because she "always show very aware of all the questions related to the energy sector, as well as those related to the economic and financial area ".
"It
remains also imperative to have clear that, in fact the measure should not be
misunderstood as a coup.
On the contrary, what a true
Republic can not admit is that the government address all kinds of excesses,
even with the end to ensure his re-election, being shielded due to the action of other powers for the
reason of political leftwing control
over the state Brazilian federal institutions, "he concludes. In (Workers'
Party ) PT, the
lawyer was Congressman (1991-1994) and deputy mayor of São Paulo in the mandate
of the current Senator Marta Suplicy (no party-SP).
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SOURCE/LINK: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2015/09/1676296-fundador-do-pt-apresentara-pedido-de-impeachment-de-dilma.shtml
Fundador do PT apresenta
pedido de impeachment de Dilma Rousseff
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Alan
Marques - 31.jan.12/Folhapress
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Hélio
Bicudo, um dos fundadores do PT, que pede o impeachment da presidente Dilma
Rousseff
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GUSTAVO
URIBE
DÉBORA ÁLVARES
DE BRASÍLIA
DÉBORA ÁLVARES
DE BRASÍLIA
01/09/2015 11h46 - Atualizado às 13h50
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Fundador do PT, o advogado paulista Hélio Bicudo, 93, apresentou nesta
terça-feira (1º) à Câmara dos Deputados pedido de impeachment contra a
presidente Dilma Rousseff (PT).
O documento é endereçado ao presidente da Casa Legislativa, Eduardo
Cunha (PMDB-RJ), e foi protocolado no início desta tarde pela filha do jurista,
Maria Lúcia Bicudo, e pela advogada Janaina Paschoal, que também subscreve o
pedido.
Por conta de sua idade e de seu estado de saúde, o advogado não
participou da entrega do documento. Em 2010, ele sofreu
um um AVC (Acidente Vascular Cerebral) e permaneceu internado na capital
paulista.
Segundo a filha de Bicudo, a iniciativa partiu do próprio advogado e não
tem relação nem com partidos políticos nem com movimentos favoráveis ao
impeachment da presidente.
Na carta, o fundador do PT afirma que o país está "mergulhado em
profunda crise" e que a atual situação econômica é, na verdade, uma crise
moral.
Ele argumenta que a presidente cometeu crime de responsabilidade e
elenca, entre outros motivos para o seu afastamento, as chamadas "pedaladas
fiscais", manobras do governo federal para adiar pagamentos e usar bancos
públicos para cobrir as dívidas.
"Houve uma maquiagem deliberadamente orientada a passar para a
nação (e também aos investidores internacionais) a sensação de que o Brasil
estaria economicamente saudável e, portanto, teria condições de manter os
programas em favor das classes mais vulneráveis", disse.
O documento também cita a Operação
Lava Jato e a compra da refinaria de Pasadena pela Petrobras e diz que,
pela Polícia Federal ter investigado pessoas próximas à presidente, houve a
desconstrução de sua "aura de profissional competente e ilibada, criada
por marqueteiros muito bem pagos".
Ele ainda lembra de pedido do vice-presidente do Tribunal Superior
Eleitoral, Gilmar Mendes, à Procuradoria-Geral da República para que apure
eventuais crimes que possam motivar uma ação penal pública.
"O Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, em longo e minucioso processo, tem
apurado inúmeras fraudes, verdadeiros estelionatos, encetados para garantir a
reeleição da Presidente da República, tendo o ministro Gilmar Mendes aduzido
que, se soubesse, anteriormente, do que sabe na atualidade, não estariam
aprovadas as contas de campanha", afirma.
Segundo ele, diante dos fatos apresentados, é reforçado o entendimento
de que a presidente "agiu com dolo" pelo fato de ela "sempre se
mostrar muito consciente de todas as questões afetas ao setor de energia, bem
como aquelas relacionadas à área econômica e financeira".
"Resta também imperioso que se tenha nítido que, em nenhuma medida,
considerar a possibilidade de impeachment representa golpe. Muito ao contrário,
o que uma verdadeira República não pode admitir é que o governante lance mão de
todo tipo de desmando, até com o fim de garantir sua reeleição, ficando
blindado à devida ação dos demais poderes", conclui.
No PT, o advogado foi deputado federal (1991-1994) e vice-prefeito de
São Paulo no mandato da atual senadora Marta Suplicy (sem partido-SP).
THE END
