CARACAS, Venezuela -- Over 2,000 opponents of President Hugo Chavez have gone to trial over the last seven years for crimes stemming from their participation in protests and dozens are currently in prison, a local human rights organization said Wednesday.
Alfredo Romero, a representative of the Venezuelan Penal Forum, calls the prosecution of opposition-sided protesters between 2002 and 2009 "political persecution." The rights organization has brought many of the cases to the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court, he said.
Over 300 of those arrested during that period were jailed, and 40 remain in prison, Romero said. Some have not been sentenced.
Attorney General Luisa Ortega denies prosecutors are singling out Chavez foes for prosecution, saying the those who have been arrested committed crimes such as disturbing the peace or assaulting police officers.
Romero countered that prosecutors are using "a regular judicial process, but with the objective of persecution."
The case against university student leader Julio Rivas clearly illustrates the crack down on dissidents, he said.
After his arrest last week, Rivas was charged with "inciting civil war" and "public disorder." Prosecutors are using as evidence video footage showing a person — allegedly Rivas — wearing a gas mask and using a sling shot to shoot objects at police officers during an Aug. 22 opposition protest in downtown Caracas.
Rivas was transferred on Sept. 14 to Yare Prison — a violent lockup on the outskirts of Caracas.
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