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Caracas,.- Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia said this Wednesday that the sentence against his son-in-law Rafael Tudares to 30 years in prison is a "political reprisal" to try to affect him and "distort the will expressed by Venezuelans on July 28, 2024", in reference to the presidential elections in which the electoral body proclaimed the victory of President Nicolás Maduro.
"Rafael and Mariana have no connection whatsoever to my public responsibilities. Using the justice system to punish third parties is a practice that confirms the confusion between power and impunity that has done so much damage to the country," stated the former ambassador in a post on X.You may be interested in: http://Hija de González Urrutia says her husband was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Venezuela
González Urrutia added that it is a decision without "legal basis, incompatible with the Constitution". "Faced with that reality, the defense of the rights and dignity of all Venezuelans remains firm and does not retreat", he pointed out. This Wednesday, Mariana González, daughter of the former presidential candidate, confirmed that Tudares was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy, after a "single and unique" trial hearing that lasted "more than 12 hours". "The authorities have confirmed to me that neither I nor my lawyer can access the case file, nor know the case number at the trial stage, as they have in fact prevented us from doing so since September of this year," added González Urrutia's daughter in a statement published on X. She pointed out that in 10 months of the process they have never been allowed to review the procedural records of the case nor obtain a copy of the file against her husband. González denounced that during this time they did not allow him to appoint trusted lawyers and, he said, the State assigned him a public defender from whom he has not obtained "more information than that transmitted so far" through press releases. Tudares was arrested on January 7 - three days before the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro for a third consecutive six-year term - when human rights defender Carlos Correa - already released - and former opposition presidential candidate Enrique Márquez were also arrested. On several occasions, Mariana González has reported that she has not been able to have direct or indirect communication with her husband.
