Venezuela News: Trial Against Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Begins In Caracas

The trial of radical opposition Leopoldo Lopez started today, five months after having been arrested for allegedly inciting violence in the February protests in Venezuela, in a case that could send him to prison for ten years if he is convicted on all charges. "All arguments have been stated. Clear and convincing on the part of the defense, focusing on law and reason," tweeted his wife Lilian Tintori on the lawsuit filed in court this afternoon in downtown Caracas.

Lopez, held from February 18 at the military prison in Ramo Verde, on the outskirts of Caracas, is accused by the attorney general of "arson and damage public property and conspiracy", which according to Venezuelan law is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In a press conference at the Miraflores Palace, President Nicolas Maduro said Lopez, who is on trial along with four students, "is responsible for these crimes." "You must and will be brought to justice," he added.

Attorneys for Lopez, who days ago stated they would to not go to trial after reporting alleged irregularities in the case, finally appeared in court but still recognized that the prosecution is not fulfilling the conditions for the process to be "just in constitutional terms. Leopoldo has faced the justice system, showed his face to the people of Venezuela, and did not leave the country, did not run and if he did not, neither can we," he told Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, one of his lawyers. According to the defense, the trial could take two to three months.