The Fort Worth Press - Venezuela opponent defies court summons on poll dispute

Election authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July 28 vote, prompting the opposition to cry foul and sparking protests last week which left at least 24 people dead, according to rights groups.

Multiple countries, including the United States, have recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner, and have called on Venezuela to publish election data.

Maduro, who has called for Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to be locked up, took the dispute to the Supreme Court to have his victory "validated".

Both the election authority and Supreme Court are considered by the opposition and observers to be at the beck and call of the government.

Election authorities said they had handed the election data to the court.

"If I go" to the Supreme Court, "I will be jeopardizing not only my freedom but, more importantly: the will of the Venezuelan people expressed on July 28," said Gonzalez Urrutia in a post on social media.

Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, has not been seen in public for over a week.

"Citizen Nicolas Maduro ... has publicly stated ... that if I do not appear, I will incur legal responsibilities, and that if I appear and file copies" of voting records, "there will also be serious criminal responsibilities".

"Is this an impartial procedure that respects the law? Am I condemned in advance?" asked Gonzalez Urrutia, who was summoned to appear on Wednesday morning.

The opposition has launched a website with copies of 84 percent of ballots cast, showing an easy win for Gonzalez Urrutia. The government claims these are forged.

- 'Fear will not paralyze us' -

The Supreme Court, which summoned all candidates, has said it would take at least 15 days to come to a decision.

Gonzalez Urrutia was little known until he agreed to replace the hugely popular Machado as the opposition candidate at the last minute, after she was barred from running.

Machado has also been in hiding, saying she "fears" for her life, making only a brief appearance Saturday during an opposition protest.

Maduro has announced more than 2,000 arrests since the election. Two soldiers have also been killed in protests.

On Tuesday, Machado denounced a "campaign of terror" in the country.

"They want to intimidate us so that we do not communicate, because isolated we would be much weaker and that is not going to happen. Fear will not paralyze us and we will not leave the streets," she said.

Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela's 30 million citizens to emigrate.

He is accused of locking up critics and harassing opponents in a climate of rising authoritarianism.

Maduro's previous reelection, in 2018, was rejected as a sham by dozens of Latin American and other countries, including the United States and EU members.

G.George--TFWP