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Venezuelan parliament's judicial appointments draw criticism

Xinhua, December 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

The appointments by Venezuela's outgoing National Assembly of a general public defender and 12 Supreme Court judges have drawn criticism from the opposition.

A session of the legislative body on Thursday named controversial Judge Susana Barreiros as the country's new general public defender, a position which oversees Venezuela's human rights issues.

Barreiros will take over from Carmen Eneida Alves Navas, who assumed the position temporarily after Ciro Araujo was fired for dereliction of duty in August.

Barreiros is well-known for having sentenced opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez to nearly 14 years in prison, charging him with attempting to foment a coup against President Nicolas Maduro by instigating anti-government riots in 2014 that killed dozens of people. The United Nations had said Lopez was jailed for political reasons and called for his immediate release.

The move has been interpreted by the opposition as Maduro's efforts to ensure the court is on his side after the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela lost control of parliament.

Venezuela's opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable, won a majority in parliament during legislative elections Sunday.

On Thursday, the opposition vowed to vote to remove Barreiros and free Lopez as soon as it takes power, but Maduro said he would veto any such attempts. Endi