CARACAS, Venezuela—A Venezuelan judge ordered opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez jailed for almost 14 years for inciting violence during last year’s sometimes bloody protests, handing down a maximum sentence despite U.S. calls for his release.
About 200 supporters of the country’s most-prominent jailed opposition leader gathered in a Caracas plaza expressed disbelief and sadness late Thursday when they learned of the verdict. Several wept and consoled each other with hugs.
Reflecting the passions stirred by the trial on both sides of Venezuela’s deep political divide, an elderly man died and several people were injured earlier Thursday during clashes outside the courthouse between government loyalists and Lopez supporters.
The opposition leader has repeatedly denied the charges and says he only urged peaceful demonstration against President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela’s socialist government, however, blames him for the violence that left more than 40 people dead during street protests in 2014.
Supporters of the 44-year-old, Harvard-educated former mayor of a wealthy Caracas district say the trial was marred by irregularities. The court rejected all but two defense witnesses, both of whom ultimately declined to testify, while letting the prosecution call more than 100.
The trial was all but closed to the public, and Lopez sometimes refused to attend out of protest. His lawyers said Judge Susana Barreiros abruptly ended the proceedings last week even though many witnesses had yet to take the stand.
Combined with time served, the sentence of 13 years, 9 months, 7 days, and 12 hours was the maximum punishment for Lopez’s crimes.
The prosecution focused on Lopez’s public statements last year when, under the slogan “The Exit,” he and other hardliners pushed for Maduro’s resignation just months after pro-government candidates swept regional elections.
Prosecutors say the vitriolic rhetoric encouraged protesters to burn public property and put lives at risk. Officials also accuse him of conspiring with the United States and student demonstrators to try to overthrow the government.
U.S. officials deny that accusation and have made Lopez’s release a key demand for normalizing diplomatic relations. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Venezuela’s foreign minister Tuesday to express concern about the trial days after meeting with Lopez’s wife, Lilian Tintori, in Washington.
Activists presented in the courtroom told The Associated Press that Lopez in his closing remarks looked at the judge and said that if he’s freed he'll go home, kiss his children, ask again for his wife’s hand in marriage and then start all over again canvassing the country.
While many of Lopez’s supporters never doubted he would be convicted, the stiff sentence came as a surprise to those who thought leniency would be shown in a bid to defuse tensions ahead of December’s legislative elections, which the opposition is heavily favored to win.
