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VENEZUELA

Venezuela judges target protesters: jurist body

Venezuela's judiciary is cracking down on students and dissidents while allowing nine out of ten other crimes, including thousands of murders, to go unpunished, an international watchdog said in Geneva on Thursday.

Some 1,500 students are facing prosecution over the massive protests that rocked the country for four months, including 160 who are still in prison, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said in a report.
   
At least 42 people were killed when opponents of President Nicolas Maduro took to the streets in February to protest rampant crime, runaway inflation and shortages of basic goods in the country with the world's largest proven oil reserves.
   
Judges and prosecutors, under heavy political pressure, have made little progress in investigating the deaths or allegations of the torture of demonstrators, the ICJ said.
   
And they have turned a blind eye to surging crime rates in Venezuela — including some 15,000 murders in the last year alone, the ICJ said, pointing out that instead the judiciary had cracked down on dissidents.
   
"A robustly independent judiciary, prosecutorial service, and legal profession are needed now more than ever to protect people's rights in a democratic state," said the ICJ's Secretary General Wilder Tayler.
   
"Without them, respect for the rule of law and for human rights quickly goes into a downward spiral," he added in a statement.
   
A judge in Caracas ruled on Thursday that opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez would have to stand trial on charges of instigating violence at an anti-government demonstration in February.
   
The 43-year-old, Harvard-educated economist who leads the opposition Popular Will party, is being held at a military jail on the outskirts of Caracas as a self-proclaimed "political prisoner" and "prisoner of conscience".
   
"This is only one example of how the judiciary as a whole is being used against politicians and dissidents," ICJ commissioner Carlos Ayala told reporters in Geneva.
   
The case is "an example of how dangerous it is for democracy and the rule of law (to use) the judiciary to persecute political dissidents," he said.

Maduro has likened the protests to a coup designed to oust him ever since he succeeded late firebrand leader Hugo Chavez, blaming the United States for masterminding them.

Washington has dismissed the allegations.
   
The lack of independence in the judiciary helped spark the demonstrations and is contributing to the harsh treatment of the protesters, the ICJ said.

Venezuela's judiciary "is seriously threatened," and this is undermining democracy and rule of law in the country, said the report.

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VENEZUELA

Venezuela’s Maduro hails start of Norway-brokered talks with opposition

President Nicolas Maduro welcomed Friday the "beginning of talks" with the Venezuelan opposition in Norway, after months of bloody clashes between the two sides.

Venezuela's Maduro hails start of Norway-brokered talks with opposition
Photo: AFP

“The talks have begun nicely to move toward agreements of peace, agreement and harmony, and I ask for the support of all Venezuelan people to advance on the path of peace,” Maduro said in a declaration at a ceremony in front of 6,500 troops in the northern state of Aragua.

Confronted with the worst socio-economic crisis in the oil-producing country's recent history, the socialist leader added that “Venezuela has to process its conflicts” and seek solutions “by way of peace.”

He declared the “beginning and exploration of conversations and dialogues” with the opposition.

Maduro's depiction of the talks was at odds with opposition leader Juan Guaido who Thursday denied they were underway.

“There is no negotiation whatsoever,” Guaido made clear in comments to reporters. Instead, Norwegian officials were “trying to mediate” with both sides to bring them to the table.

Friday's ceremony in Aragua was attended by Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state Governor Hector Rodriguez, the government's representatives in the Oslo talks.

Maduro hailed the “good news” hours after Norway reported on preliminary contacts between the parties.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza gave the first official confirmation from Caracas of its involvement in what Norway referred to as exploratory discussions in Oslo.

The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes.

Maduro on Thursday made no direct reference to the meetings, but said Rodriguez was “on a very important mission for peace in the country… in Europe.”

So far, details of the exact process underway in Oslo have been scant.

Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement it had made “preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela.”

These were “part of an exploratory phase, with the aim of contributing to finding a solution to the situation in the country,” it added.

The opposition said it was being represented by National Assembly vice president Stalin Gonzalez and former lawmaker Gerardo Blyde.

US-backed Guaido is recognized by dozens of countries as interim president after dismissing Maduro's presidency as “illegitimate” following his re-election last year in polls widely dismissed as rigged.

Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods — forcing millions to flee — as well as brutally suppressing dissent.

He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military.

Shortages of basic goods have forced millions to flee Venezuela.