Venezuela court grants parole to Chavez opponent
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela -- A government opponent was freed on parole
Wednesday after a year in prison following President Hugo Chavez's call
for clemency for prisoners with health problems.
Alejandro Pena Esclusa, who needs cancer treatment, is awaiting trial on
charges of hiding explosives in his home but calls the case bogus and
politically motivated. The court's decision to free him came four days
after Chavez urged authorities to allow parole or house arrest for
inmates with serious ailments.
The president made that appeal shortly before leaving for Cuba on
Saturday to undergo his own cancer treatment. Prosecutors have promptly
taken up Chavez's request, announcing that authorities are considering
granting parole to 54 prisoners for humanitarian reasons.
After being freed from the country's intelligence headquarters in
Caracas, Pena told reporters that other "political prisoners" should
also go free.
"I want to make a call not to forget them, to keep fighting for all the
political prisoners," Pena told reporters.
The government insists that no prisoners are held for their political
views, but rather for legitimate crimes.
Pena said he will be required to appear in court every 30 days while
awaiting trail and is barred from leaving the country or talking about
his case in the news media.
He insisted he is innocent, and said he would meet with his doctor on
Thursday to begin cancer treatment. He has said he underwent surgery for
prostate cancer one month before his arrest last year and requires
additional treatment.
"I should have had treatment that I didn't have done because I was
jailed," Pena told the Venezuela television channel Globovision, adding
that it was "urgent for me to have that treatment."
Pena was arrested on July 12, 2010, and charged with hiding explosives
and weapons in his home. At the time of his arrest, his wife accused
authorities of planting the explosives in a drawer of their 8-year-old
daughter's desk.
Pena heads Fuerza Solidaria, a small conservative organization that
opposes Chavez and other leftist Latin American governments while
advocating free-market economics.
Chavez's opponents have been demanding access to medical care for Pena
and seven other inmates with health problems, describing them as
"political prisoners."
The others include five former police officials who have been sentenced
to prison terms ranging from 17 to 30 years for their alleged roles in
killings during a protest march that preceded a short-lived 2002 coup
against Chavez. The former officials, who insist they are innocent, have
ailments ranging from glaucoma to cancer.
Another government opponent, former police official Jose Sanchez, has
hypertension and other health problems. He is serving a 19-year sentence
for homicide.
Government opponents also cite the high-profile case of Judge Maria
Lourdes Afiuni, who has been detained since 2009 for conditionally
releasing banker Eligio Cedeno, who was charged with corruption. Chavez
had demanded a stiff sentence for Afiuni, but she was granted house
arrest earlier this year after she said doctors had detected
irregularities in her breasts and bladder.
During a Cabinet meeting Saturday, Chavez said a priest friend had
mentioned concerns about the health of some inmates.
"Here in Venezuela there are no political prisoners," Chavez said,
adding that what the country does have are some "imprisoned politicians."
Chavez said all prisoners who have shown that they have a serious
illness, whether those singled out by the opposition or others, should
be granted permission to return home for "all the medical treatment they
need.
Associated Press writer Ian James contributed to this report."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/20/2322866/venezuela-court-grants-parole.html
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