Venezuelan prosecutors summon Urrutia over elections disinformation

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 Aug 2024 22:57
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Attorney General Tarek William Saab says that the Venezuelan opposition leader orchestrated a major cyberattack and published false data on an unofficial platform.

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Former Venezuelan presidential candidate and opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in Caracas, Venezuela in August 2024 (AFP)

Venezuelan prosecutors summoned former presidential candidate and Western-backed opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on Saturday to testify about his involvement in the creation of a website used by Venezuela's far-right to spread false election results alleging that President Nicolas Maduro had been defeated.

"Citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia" is summoned "on August 26 at 10 am for an interview," the prosecutors said Saturday.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab had said on Friday that Urrutia "must appear" before the prosecutors and that they "expect him to do so."

"He should speak consistently about what happened before, during, and after July 28, when he marked several moments of disobedience to our institutions," Saab said.

The investigation will be led by the 58th Prosecutor’s Office, which specializes in cybercrime and will be supported by other agencies to identify servers, users, and other key details involved in the case.

Saab pointed out that Venezuela’s far-right contested the election results, attempted to undermine electoral authorities, orchestrated a major cyberattack, and published false data on an unofficial platform.

Earlier in August, the Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal investigation against Gonzalez Urrutia and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado—who was barred from running—to determine their roles in crimes related to the "usurpation" of authority, spreading false information to incite unrest, encouraging disobedience of the law, incitement to insurrection, criminal conspiracy, and related offenses.

In hearings before the Supreme Court’s Electoral Chamber, initiated by President Nicolas Maduro's challenge, the parties backing Gonzalez Urrutia's candidacy admitted they lacked the evidence to verify their claims of electoral fraud.

Saab also underscored that Gonzalez Urrutia and other far-right figures bear responsibility for the 27 deaths and 129 injuries that occurred during the violent unrest on July 29 and 30.