Venezuelan Prosecutor Affirms Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez’s Trial was a Farce

In a recent video, Franklin Nieves, the Venezuelan prosecutor in the case against Leopoldo Lopez, confessed he was coerced by Nicolas Maduro’s government and the country’s judicial system to utilize “false evidence” in accusing  political opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. In September Lopez was sentenced to 13 years in jail after being found guilty for crimes associated with the 2014 anti-government protests. “Those who know me know the anguish I was under, how I couldn’t sleep… due to the pain and pressure I felt by continuing with a farce— by continuing with that trial [and] violating these persons’ rights,”  he affirmed in the video. The prosecutor, who has now fled the country, urged his fellow colleagues and prosecutors to come forward  with the truth.

Nieves promised the eventual release of details surrounding  the controversial trial that drew criticism  from  Pope Francis, President Barack Obama, and human rights organizations across the globe. The Venezuelan opposition party, along with Lopez’s lawyer and family,called for Lopez’s  immediate release following the prosecutor’s confession.