Hardline Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been jailed for nearly 14 years on charges of inciting 2014 anti-government protests that spiralled into violence killing more than 40 people.
The ruling enraged foes of socialist President Nicolas Maduro who say Lopez is an innocent scapegoat, but it brought cheers from grassroots government supporters who view the US-educated activist as a dangerous conspirator.
After a marathon session at the heavily guarded Palace of Justice, judge Susana Barreiros ruled Lopez, 44, who was arrested in February last year, had masterminded the violence and street riots that erupted for three months.
Though Lopez had publicly called for peaceful resistance to the Maduro government and was behind bars during most of the unrest, prosecutors said his speeches sent subliminal messages and constituted a call to violence.
He was ordered to return to the Ramo Verde military jail to serve a sentence of 13 years and nine months.
Lopez's case has become a cause celebre for opposition supporters over what they deem the Maduro government's trampling of human rights. The US government, the UN and international rights groups had all called for Lopez's release.
"This is not only an attack on liberty and legality but also a provocation to the Venezuelan people," said Jesus Torrealba, leader of the opposition coalition which includes Lopez's Popular Will party.
Some Lopez supporters banged pots and pans in upmarket areas of Caracas, a traditional form of protest in Venezuela. Others took to social media to vent their anger, hailing Lopez as a Venezuelan Nelson Mandela.
The sentence was a slap in the face for the US which had been pressing for his release during a quiet rapprochement with Venezuela over the last few months.
US Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson said she was "deeply troubled" by the ruling.
Lopez has for years been one of the most prominent hardline figures in Venezuela's opposition. He was a successful and popular mayor of the Chacao district of Caracas until 2008.
He is the scion of wealthy families and a direct descendant of the sister of Latin American independence hero Simon Bolivar as well as of Venezuela's first president, Cristobal Mendoza.
That blue blood creates barriers with the poor, and his confrontational style puts off some moderate opposition figures.
Lopez's critics paint him as a dangerous radical in the pocket of Venezuela's wealthy elite and the U.S. government.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article