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ePaper created 2015-11-10, 17:27:36 | version 1.33.00
REDACTED Page 147 of 190 On 20 February, the General Prosecutor’s Office charged Ledezma for his alleged participation in “a conspiracy to organize and execute violent acts against the democratically elected government.”641 The evidence against him includes a coerced statement from a former military officer accusing him of participating in an attempted coup.642 If convicted, Ledezma could be sentenced to up to 26 years in prison. Following Ledezma’s detention, Amnesty International stated that “we cannot assume anything but that the authorities do not care about protecting human rights, rather they only care about silencing criticism”.643 Amnesty called the arrest “worrisome” and “unacceptable”. Several other NGOs and international leaders called for Ledezma’s liberation.644 Human Rights Watch called Ledezma’s detention “arbitrary” and stated that there wasn’t any evidence that the Mayor had committed a crime. Therefore, it called for its immediate liberation. 645 The international NGO noted that the GoV had “pursued criminal charges against at least five other opposition politicians; three have been jailed, including two sentenced in trials that violated basic due process rights”.646 After undergoing surgery, Ledezma was temporarily transferred to house arrest on May 1, 2015.647 641 HRW. (2015) UNASUR: Condemn Abuses in Venezuela 642 EL PAIS. (2015) Alcalde de Caracas fue incriminado por militar torturado, según abogado. El Pais. [Online] 22 February. Available from: http://www.elpais.com.uy/mundo/alcalde-caracas- incriminado-militar-torturado.html [Accessed 26 October, 2015]; HRW. (2015) UNASUR: Condemn Abuses in Venezuela 643 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. (2015) Venezuela: ¿Continúa la Cacería de Brujas? Amnesty International. [Online] 20 February. Available from: http://www.amnistia.me/profiles/blogs/ledezma- 20f [Accessed 26 October, 2015] 644 FREEDOM HOUSE. (2015) Venezuela Should Release Ledezma, Other Opposition Leaders. Freedom House. [Online] 20 February. Available from: https://freedomhouse.org/article/venezuela-should- release-ledezma-other-opposition-leaders#.VUcD1Wb4E7A [Accessed 26 October, 2015]; EL VENEZOLANO. (2015) Foro Penal rechaza arresto de Ledezma y el uso de los poderes para perseguir. El Venezolano. [Online] 21 February. Available from: http://elvenezolanonews.com/foro-penal-rechaza- arresto-de-ledezma-y-el-uso-de-los-poderes-para-perseguir/ [Accessed 26 October, 2015]; VA. (2015) Repudio mundial por detención de Ledezma. Voz de América. [Online] 20 February. Available from: http://www.voanoticias.com/content/departamento-estado-veneuela-ledezma/2651386.html [Accessed 26 October, 2015]; EL UNIVERSAL. (2015) Congreso de España pide liberación de Ledezma y López 645 EL UNIVERSAL. (2015) HRW deems "arbitrary" detention of Mayor Ledezma. El Universal. [Online] 20 February. Available from: http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150220/hrw-deems- arbitrary-detention-of-mayor-ledezma [Accessed 26 October, 2015]; INFOBAE. (2015) Human Rights Watch condenó la detención 'arbitraria' de Ledezma y pidió su inmediata liberación. Infobae América. [Online] 20 February. Available from: http://www.infobae.com/2015/02/20/1628016-human-rights- watch-condeno-la-detencion-arbitraria-ledezma-y-pidio-su-inmediata-liberacion [Accessed 26 October, 2015] 646 HRW. (2015) UNASUR: Condemn Abuses in Venezuela 647 EL TIEMPO. (2015) Antonio Ledezma, en arresto domiciliario tras ser sometido a cirugía. El Tiempo. [Online] 27 October. Available from: http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/arresto- domiciliario-para-ledezma/15666196 [Accessed 26 October, 2015]; ABC. (2015) Alcalde Ledezma en arresto domiciliario tras cirugía. ABC. [Online] 1 May. Available from: