Second mayor refuses to turn himself in as Venezuelan court orders arrest of opposition mayors

Record ID: 905949

  • Title: Second mayor refuses to turn himself in as Venezuelan court orders arrest of opposition mayors
  • Date: 10th August 2017
  • Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
  • Embargoed: 24th August 2017 15:16
  • Keywords: David Smolansky mayor of El Hatillo opposition mayor ordered arrest
  • Location: CARACAS AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, VENEZUELA
  • City: CARACAS AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0036TKQVYF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A second defiant opposition mayor of Caracas has said he will not turn himself in to authorities after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's loyalist Supreme Court steps up the prosecution of opposition politicians.
    On Wednesday (August 9), the Supreme Court said via Facebook that it had sentenced David Smolansky of the El Hatillo district of Caracas to 15 months in prison, fired him from his post and ordered his arrest.
    Smolansky released a video on social media where he said from a secret location that the government was targeting all the opposition mayors, one by one.
    Smolansky was accused of defying an order to prevent opposition protests from blocking streets.
    On Tuesday, Ramon Muchacho, mayor of the wealthy Chacao district of capital city Caracas, released a similar video after the court removed him from office and sentenced him to 15 months in prison for failing to halt anti-government protests in his district.
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