Supporters Gather For Leopoldo Lopez Court Hearing In Venezuela скачать в хорошем качестве

Supporters Gather For Leopoldo Lopez Court Hearing In Venezuela

Supporters of detained opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez have started gathering ahead of his court hearing in Caracas. Mr Lopez, of the opposition Popular Will party, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of inciting violence. He handed himself over to police during a rally he had called to protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The hearing is expected to take place later at the Palace of Justice. 'Unjust detention' Mr Lopez spent the night in a military prison after being detained on Tuesday. The authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Mr Lopez last week on charges of inciting violence after three people were shot in anti-government protests. After briefly disappearing from the public eye, on Sunday Mr Lopez posted a video message calling on his supporters to join him in a mass rally on Tuesday, during which he would hand himself in to the security forces. After giving an impassioned speech standing in front of a statue of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti, Mr Lopez, clutching a white flower, walked up to a line of National Guardsmen and turned himself in. Tens of thousands of his supporters watched as he was driven away in an armoured vehicle. Following his detention, a pre-recorded video message by Mr Lopez was posted on video-sharing site YouTube, in which he told his supporters he had been "unjustly detained for dreaming of a better Venezuela". "If you're watching this video it is because another abuse has been carried out by the government, which is seeking to spread falsehoods, twisting and manipulating events," he said. "I don't regret any of the things we have done," he insisted. The government has accused Mr Lopez of fomenting unrest by urging Venezuelans to take part in rallies, some of which have ended in violence. President Maduro has called the opposition politician a "murderer" and alleged he is being paid the the US Central Intelligence Agency to topple his government. The authorities point to Mr Lopez's participation in street protests in 2002 which preceded a brief coup against then President Hugo Chavez, Mr Maduro's predecessor in office and mentor, to back up their claims. At the hearing, prosecutors are expected to announce what charges Mr Lopez will face and whether he will remain in custody.