Borrell rejects the arrest warrant against Edmundo González and calls for respect for his integrity
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, expressed this Tuesday his “categorical rejection” of the arrest warrant in Venezuela against the Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who the Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office accuses of five alleged crimes related to the presidential elections.
After a Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant against President Nicolás Maduro’s rival in the elections of 28 July, in response to a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the head of European diplomacy has called on the Venezuelan authorities to “respect his freedom, integrity and human rights”.
“Enough of the repression and harassment of the opposition and civil society. The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected,” he said in a message on social media.
The First Special Court of First Instance in Control Functions with Jurisdiction in Cases Linked to Crimes Associated with Terrorism has ordered the arrest of González for the alleged crimes of “usurpation of functions”, “forgery of public documents”, “instigation to disobedience of laws”, “conspiracy”, “sabotage to damage systems” and “association”, as confirmed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The EU has agreed that it will not recognise Maduro’s democratic legitimacy due to the lack of progress in presenting official documents proving his electoral victory, while Spain has proposed to its other European partners the option of applying sanctions against the regime, a point that, however, does not yet have the necessary unanimity.
Likewise, a debate has arisen within the EU about recognising Edmundo González as the winner of the elections, something that the bloc has already suggested in some of its statements, although this approach has not garnered the necessary consensus among the members of the bloc. In this regard, Borrell pointed to the month of January, when the transition of power in Venezuela should take place, as the deadline for the 27 to be able to make a decision in this regard.
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