Venezuela opposition leader jailed for his 'art of words' while leader of protest movement

Almost a month after his conviction, the reasons for his sentence emerged after the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional published excerpts from the sentencing document.  “It is clearly determined that... Leopoldo Lopez did not use the appropriate mediums established by the constitution for his demands to be met, he instead used the art of words to make his followers believe that a constitutional solution existed, while the conditions for his requests were not suitable,” it said. “He sent an unsuitable message to his followers, most of whom are young people...” The legal basis for his conviction amounts to only nine pages of the 283-page document. It fails to provide the precise relationship between the alleged offences and the laws governing them.  More…