A/HRC/45/CRP.11 387. On 19 February 2014, Mr. López appeared before temporary judge Ralenys Tovar, president of the Sixteenth Caracas Procedural Court. The hearing took place on a bus outside Ramo Verde, outside Judge Tovar’s territorial jurisdiction Mr. Lopez. The charges mentioned in the arrest warrant were confirmed with the exception of those for homicide, terrorism and bodily harm. Judge Tovar ordered Mr. López’s detention in Ramo Verde military prison, despite his civilian status. 869 388. The preliminary hearing began on 3 June 2014 before the Sixteenth Caracas Court of Control, led by Judge Adriana López. Mr. López’s case was combined with four students accused in the same incident.870 According to Mr. López’s lawyer, the students did not know Mr. López and were not associated with his political party.871 The students described CICPC officers torturing them in at CICPC headquarters at Plaza Parque Carabobo, pointing guns at their heads and forcing them to sign both confessions and declarations against Mr. López. 872 According to Mr. López’s lawyer, 138 evidentiary submissions presented against Mr. López were accepted, while all but one put forward by the defence in his favour were rejected, including technical and direct witness information.873 389. On 23 July 2014, Mr. López’s trial began before the Twenty-Eighth Tribunal, led by Judge Susana Barreiros. The trial continued for 13 months, with many hearings deferred. Prior to the trial, on 3 November 2014, the UN Working Group on arbitrary detention published opinion 26/2014, requesting the Government to free Mr. López given the arbitrary nature of his detention.874 Judge Barreiros rejected it as external interference in sovereign matters.875 One of the students, Christian Holdach, identified his alleged torturer in court, having recognized him during the hearing. According to Mr. López’s lawyer, the judge responded by saying it was the prosecutor’s responsibility to investigate the allegation.876 390. On 10 September 2015, Judge Barreiros found Mr. López guilty of all charges and sentenced him to 13 years and nine months’ imprisonment. 877 The students were also convicted but granted conditional release.878 The judgement was published on 2 October 2015. On 23 October 2015, Franklin Nieves, the prosecutor in Mr. López’s case, released a video accusing his superiors and the Executive of pressuring him to accuse Leopoldo López falsely.879 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 Ibid. Ángel González Sánchez (19); Demian Martín García (18); Christian Holdack (34); and Marco Aurelio Coello (18). See Case 35: Marches and deaths in protest (12 February 2014). Mission interview with Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, Leopoldo López’s lawyer, in July 2020. See TalCual digigal, Entrevista completa a Marco Coello en CNN en Español, 16 September 2015, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGO1zHMzJZ4 Mission interview with Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, Leopoldo López’s lawyer, on 3 July 2020. See also: Acceso a la Justicia, Cronología del caso Leopoldo López, 25 August 2016, available at: https://www.accesoalajusticia.org/cronologia-del-caso-leopoldo-lopez/ A/HRC/WGAD/2014/26. América Económica, Continúa el juicio, 14 November 2014, available at: https://americaeconomica.com/noticia/19426/reportaje/continua-el-juicio.html. In December 2015, Judge Barreiros was appointed General Public Defender by the National Assembly, whose President at the time was Diosdado Cabello. See EFE, La jueza que condenó a López es designada defensora pública general de Venezuela, 10 December 2015, available at: https://www.efe.com/efe/america/politica/la-jueza-que-condeno-a-lopez-es-designada-defensorapublica-general-de-venezuela/20000035-2786917 Mission interview with Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, Leopoldo López’s lawyer, in July 2020. Mr. Lopez was found guilty of: public incitement to violence (article 285 of the Criminal Code); damage to public property (articles 473 and 474 together with 83 of the Criminal Code); arson (article 343 of the Criminal Code) and criminal association (article 37 of the Criminal Code together with article 27 and 29 [3 and 7] of the Organic Law against Organized Crime and Financing of Terrorism. Christian Holdack was convicted to 10 years and 6 months for arson, damages, public incitement and criminal association, while Demian Martín García and Ángel de Jesús González were convicted to 4 years and 6 months for public incitement. YouTube Video, Lapatilla Patillavideo, Primeras declaraciones del fiscal Franklin Nieves -CASO LEOPOLDO LÓPEZ- a su salida de Venezuela, 23 October 2015, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfbJ8CUOiuo 99