Press. voanews.com
A rights group and the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López
are demanding that Venezuelan authorities investigate allegations that he is
being tortured in a military prison. On Saturday, Amnesty International
released a statement asking that authorities cease "any act that endangers
[his] physical and psychological integrity" and his life. The statement
noted the "special gravity" of López’s case, saying he had been
isolated for roughly three weeks and denied access to visits by relatives.
López, a leader of the Popular Will party and former mayor of Caracas’
Chacao district, is serving a 13-year sentence in Ramo Verde military prison
for allegedly inciting violence in a 2014 anti-government march that left 43
people dead. The United Nations, numerous rights groups and international
leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump have identified him as a
political prisoner and called for his release.
López reportedly shouted from inside the military prison that he was
being tortured, according to a video released Friday by his wife, activist
Lilian Tintori. In the video recorded from outside the prison, a man is heard
shouting, "Lilian, I am being tortured. Denounce!" Ultimas Noticias,
a newspaper aligned with socialist President Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday
published photographs showing Lopez receiving medical attention and a bag of
food. On Sunday, Tintori said she had not been able to meet with her husband
since early June. She accused authorities of manipulating or falsifying the
photos, saying they were taken three months ago, based on his haircut and
clothing.
"They didn’t let me in … to see Leopold and to see his state. I
still don’t know anything about him," she said in Spanish to reporters, in
a video posted on Facebook. As of
Sunday, Maduro’s administration had not responded to the torture allegations. In
early May, López was rumored to have died, and the government released a “proof
of life” video.