Opposition leader leaves prison as Venezuela stands on precipice

VENEZUELAN opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was yesterday released from military prison and transferred to house arrest for health reasons.

Mr Lopez, 46, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2015 for allegedly in- citing violence during months of antigovernment protests the previous year.

The granting of Mr Lopez’s partial freedom comes as Venezuela stands on the precipice after more than 90 days of nationwide demonstrations in which at least 80 people have been killed. While opposition figures welcomed the Supreme Court order as a first step, they insisted it did not go far enough.

“It gives us great pleasure that Leopoldo Lopez is home,” said Henrique Capriles, a fellow opposition leader, said. “He must be given his full freedom, like all the political prisoners!” His incarceration, in the notorious Ramo Verde military prison outside Caracas, was widely condemned by the international community.

His wife, Lilian Tintori, released a video in June taken from outside the prison in which a man purported to be Mr Lopez was heard screaming from his cell that he was being tortured. The Supreme Court had agreed to look at his case due to “serious signs of irregularities”. It said in a statement yesterday that it had granted the transfer as a “humanitarian measure”.

Many fear Venezuela is on the brink of civil war after four years of economic collapse under President Nicolas Maduro caused hyperinflation and critical shortages of food and medicine.

The National Assembly was attacked by armed government supporters this week after it called a plebiscite aimed at forcing fresh elections. The vote next Sunday is likely to be a major flashpoint.