Image copyright EPA Image caption Lorent Saleh had been detained since 2014

The Venezuelan government says it has released a political activist who has been held without trial since 2014.

Lorent Saleh was arrested in September 2014, accused of links to Colombian paramilitaries, as well as planning terrorist acts and a coup.

The 30-year-old former student leader was mainly held in the country's intelligence agency building in the capital Caracas.

Officials said he was being released due to concerns about his mental state.

According to a government statement, there were concerns he could become violent or take his own life.

His release comes just days after officials said jailed opposition lawmaker, Fernando Albán, threw himself from the 10th floor of the intelligence agency building.

The councillor's death drew condemnation from the US and the UN, while Mr Albán's party accused the regime of murder .

Image copyright AFP Image caption His mother Yamileh was pictured hugging supporters outside the intelligence service building

The government said Mr Saleh was being flown to Spain for treatment.

A spokeswoman for the Human Rights commission at the European Parliament, Beatriz Becerra said his release would not lead to the international community dropping its guard over Venezuela.

She added that hundreds of prisoners were suffering torture or kidnapping in Venezuela.

"Lorent Saleh is a witness to the atrocities of the regime," she said.

Mr Saleh was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2017, which is given to defenders of Human Rights.</s>Venezuelan authorities have freed a prominent opposition activist jailed for four years just days after an anti-government politician died in state custody.

Lorent Saleh, 30, was immediately escorted to the airport on Friday and put on a flight to Madrid with Spanish government officials.

Upon arriving at Madrid's airport Saturday, Saleh told media and a small group of exuberant Venezuelan opposition supporters that "the fight goes on".

"What I ask is that we all think about the fact that in Venezuela there are innocent people behind bars, people that have been kidnapped and who deserve to cross the same bridge that I have," Saleh said.

Saleh said that he didn't know he was being released until the last minute.

"They had already put me in a police car and we were heading to the airport when they told me," Saleh said.

"Today I have been able to see the sunrise for the first time in four years, and I am still coming to grips with that."

His release came just days after Fernando Alban, a Caracas city council member accused of taking part in a failed drone attack on President Nicolas Maduro, died in pretrial detention, an incident that sparked international outrage.

Authorities say the 52-year-old committed suicide by jumping out of a 10th-floor window of the state intelligence service headquarters. But his supporters and family say he was tortured to death and then thrown out.

Several foreign governments and the United Nations have called for an independent investigation to determine whether foul play was involved.

A government truth commission said Saleh was at risk of causing harm to himself after being evaluated for suicidal tendencies while imprisoned. It said he should be released as part of efforts to ease political tensions in the South American nation.

Saleh was arrested in Colombia in 2014 and extradited, after he appeared on a video phone call leaked by Venezuelan authorities bragging to an unknown person about plans to hire sharpshooters to sow unrest in Venezuela.

His extradition was widely condemned by human rights groups, who argued he could never get a fair trial in Venezuela and would be subjected to harsh conditions of confinement.

News of Saleh's release on Saturday also came as a shock to his supporters, and even his mother, who rushed to a Caracas jail expecting to receive her son only to learn he had been sent to Europe.

"I didn't know anything about this. I thought he'd be turned over here, but what's important is that he's free," a weeping Yamile Saleh told journalists outside the jail.

"He tried to calm me, saying he is with people he trusts," she said after speaking to her son by phone.

Saleh thanked Spain for its role in his release and said that he hoped to see his mother soon.

Spain released a statement following Saleh's arrival saying that diplomat Juan Pablo de Laiglesia had travelled with Saleh.

The statement said Spain considered Saleh's release "the correct decision by the Venezuelan government to move in the correct direction of helping generate a climate of trust".</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan authorities have freed a prominent opposition activist jailed for four years just days after an anti-government politician died in state custody. Lorent Saleh was immediately escorted to the airport and…

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan authorities have freed a prominent opposition activist jailed for four years just days after an anti-government politician died in state custody. Lorent Saleh was immediately escorted to the airport and put on a flight to Madrid with Spanish government officials.

Upon arriving to Madrid’s airport Saturday, Saleh told media and a small group of exuberant Venezuelan opposition supporters that “the fight goes on.”

“What I ask is that we all think about the fact that in Venezuela there are innocent people behind bars, people that have been kidnapped and who deserve to cross the same bridge that I have,” Saleh said.

Saleh said that he didn’t know he was being released until the last minute.

“They had already put me in a police car and we were heading to the airport when they told me,” Saleh said. “Today I have been able to see the dawn for the first time in four years, and I am still coming to grips with that.”

News of Saleh’s release also came as a shock to his supporters, and even his mother, who rushed to a Caracas jail expecting to receive her son only to learn he had been sent to Europe.

“I didn’t know anything about this. I thought he’d be turned over here, but what’s important is that he’s free,” a weeping Yamile Saleh told journalists outside the jail.

“He tried to calm me, saying he is with people he trusts,” she said after speaking to her son by phone. “We have to take care of Lorent’s life. There are things I can’t answer.”

Saleh thanked Spain for its role in his release and said that he hoped to see his mother soon.

A government truth commission said Saleh was at risk of causing harm to himself after being evaluated for suicidal tendencies while imprisoned. It said it was decided he should be released as part of efforts to ease political tensions in the South American nation.

Spain released a statement following Saleh’s arrival saying that diplomat Juan Pablo de Laiglesia had traveled with Saleh. It added that De Laiglesia had been in Caracas from Oct. 9-12 while “he held meetings with members of the (Venezuelan) government, representatives of the opposition, civil society organizations, and Spanish associations and companies.”

Saleh’s mother had mounted an international campaign to secure her son’s release.

Saleh, 30, was arrested in Colombia in 2014 and extradited by then Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos after appearing on a video phone call leaked by Venezuelan authorities bragging to an unknown person about plans to hire sharpshooters to sow unrest in Venezuela.

Santos, a future Nobel Peace Prize winner, was at the time seeking to curry favor with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was sponsoring peace talks between Santos’ government and leftist rebels.

Further fueling the Venezuelan government’s narrative that Saleh was plotting terrorist acts with international support, he was also photographed alongside prominent right-wing politicians such as former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

His extradition was widely condemned by human rights groups, who argued he could never get a fair trial in Venezuela and would be subjected to harsh conditions of confinement.

In 2017, he was one of several anti-government activists the opposition considers political prisoners awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European parliament.

His release capped a tumultuous week that saw another anti-government activist, Caracas area councilman Fernando Alban, fall from the 10th floor of a police building where he was being held.

Authorities have called Alban’s death a suicide, but opposition leaders have alleged — so far without evidence — that he was murdered while in custody. Several foreign governments and the United Nations have called for an independent investigation to determine whether foul play was involved.

Alban was arrested last week at Caracas’ international airport upon arriving from a trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York to press foreign officials to apply more pressure on Maduro’s government. The government said he was being investigated for his alleged involvement in an August attack on Maduro with explosives-laden drones.

Spain said in its statement that it considered Saleh’s release “the correct decision by the Venezuelan government to move in the correct direction of helping generate a climate of trust.”

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Lorent Saleh traveled to Spain after being released from jail Friday.

A government truth commission said Saleh was evaluated for suicidal tendencies while imprisoned and it was decided he should be released as part of its efforts to ease political tensions in the South American nation.

Lorent Saleh was arrested in Colombia in 2014 and extradited by then President Juan Manuel Santos after appearing in a leaked video phone conversation allegedly plotting attacks on political targets in Venezuela.

His extradition was widely condemned by human rights groups, but it was seen as an attempt by Santos to curry favor with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as he was sponsoring peace talks with Colombia's leftist rebels.</s>Lorent Saleh traveled to Spain after being released from jail Friday.

A government truth commission said Saleh was evaluated for suicidal tendencies while imprisoned and it was decided he should be released as part of its efforts to ease political tensions in the South American nation.

Lorent Saleh was arrested in Colombia in 2014 and extradited by then President Juan Manuel Santos after appearing in a leaked video phone conversation allegedly plotting attacks on political targets in Venezuela.

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His extradition was widely condemned by human rights groups, but it was seen as an attempt by Santos to curry favor with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as he was sponsoring peace talks with Colombia's leftist rebels.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan authorities have freed a prominent opposition activist jailed for four years just days after an anti-government politician died in state custody. Lorent Saleh was immediately escorted to the airport and put on a flight to Madrid with Spanish government officials.

News of Saleh’s release on Friday came as a shock to his supporters, and even his mother, who rushed to a Caracas jail expecting to receive her son only to learn he had been sent to Europe.

“I didn’t know anything about this. I thought he’d be turned over here, but what’s important is that he’s free,” a weeping Yamile Saleh told journalists outside the jail.

“He tried to calm me, saying he is with people he trusts,” she said after speaking to her son by phone. “We have to take care of Lorent’s life. There are things I can’t answer.”

A government truth commission said Saleh was at risk of causing harm to himself after being evaluated for suicidal tendencies while imprisoned. It said it was decided he should be released as part of efforts to ease political tensions in the South American nation.

Spain released a statement following Saleh’s arrival to Madrid on Saturday saying that diplomat Juan Pablo de Laiglesia had traveled with Saleh. It added that De Laiglesia had been in Caracas from Oct. 9-12 while “he held meetings with members of the (Venezuelan) government, representatives of the opposition, civil society organizations, and Spanish associations and companies.”

Saleh’s mother had mounted an international campaign to secure her son’s release.

Saleh, 30, was arrested in Colombia in 2014 and extradited by then Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos after appearing on a video phone call leaked by Venezuelan authorities bragging to an unknown person about plans to hire sharpshooters to sow unrest in Venezuela.

Santos, a future Nobel Peace Prize winner, was at the time seeking to curry favor with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was sponsoring peace talks between Santos’ government and leftist rebels.

Further fueling the Venezuelan government’s narrative that Saleh was plotting terrorist acts with international support, he was also photographed alongside prominent right-wing politicians such as former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

His extradition was widely condemned by human rights groups, who argued he could never get a fair trial in Venezuela and would be subjected to harsh conditions of confinement.

In 2017, he was one of several anti-government activists the opposition considers political prisoners awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European parliament.

His release capped a tumultuous week that saw another anti-government activist, Caracas area councilman Fernando Alban, fall from the 10th floor of a police building where he was being held.

Authorities have called Alban’s death a suicide, but opposition leaders have alleged — so far without evidence — that he was murdered while in custody. Several foreign governments and the United Nations have called for an independent investigation to determine whether foul play was involved.

Alban was arrested last week at Caracas’ international airport upon arriving from a trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York to press foreign officials to apply more pressure on Maduro’s government. The government said he was being investigated for his alleged involvement in an August attack on Maduro with explosives-laden drones.

Spain said in its statement that it considered Saleh’s release “the correct decision by the Venezuelan government to move in the correct direction of helping generate a climate of trust.”</s>Lorent Saleh is the president of NGO Operation Freedom, which works to promote human rights, democracy, and civil liberties in Venezuela and the rest of Latin America

MADRID, Spain – Fresh from his release after 4 years behind bars, Venezuelan opposition activist Lorent Saleh said Saturday, October 13 he had seen the sunrise for the first time since he was detained as he arrived in Madrid.

Emotional, the 30-year-old spoke to reporters and Venezuelans at Madrid's airport just a day after being freed from the cells of state intelligence services in Caracas.

"After 4 years I can see the sunrise, I saw it today," he said.

His release – which was welcome by Spain on Saturday – was such a surprise that he was still digesting it, he said.

"In Venezuela, there are innocent people behind bars," he added. They "deserve to cross the bridge like I did".

His release came just 4 days after Fernando Alban, a Caracas city council member accused of taking part in a failed drone attack on President Nicolas Maduro died in pretrial detention, an incident that sparked international outrage. (READ: Venezuela says Colombia's president shielding Maduro's attackers)

Authorities say the 52-year-old committed suicide by jumping out of a 10th-floor window of the state intelligence service headquarters. But his supporters and family say he was tortured to death and then thrown out.

Saleh had in the past denounced what he said was the torture inflicted on detained activists and the deaths in custody.

The United States and Venezuela's opposition say Maduro's authoritarian government has some 200 "political prisoners".

The Venezuelan regime is struggling to manage the fallout from economic collapse in the once wealthy country, whose leaders are under US sanctions.

Maduro, meanwhile, accuses the United States of manipulating the opposition in his country and of seeking to oust him.

Saleh is the president of NGO Operation Freedom, which works to promote human rights, democracy and civil liberties in Venezuela and the rest of Latin America.

He was kicked out of Colombia in September 2014 for illegal "proselytizing activities" and the Venezuelan government says he has links with Colombian paramilitary forces.

In 2017, he was one of the recipients of the European parliament's prestigious Sakharov prize for human rights, which went to several Venezuelan opposition activists. – Rappler.com</s>MADRID: Fresh from his release after four years behind bars, Venezuelan opposition activist Lorent Saleh said Saturday he had seen the sunrise for the first time since he was detained as he arrived in Madrid.

Emotional, the 30-year-old spoke to reporters and Venezuelans at Madrid’s airport just a day after being freed from the cells of state intelligence services in Caracas. “After four years I can see the sunrise, I saw it today,” he said.

His release — which was welcome by Spain on Saturday — was such a surprise that he was still digesting it, he said.

“In Venezuela there are innocent people behind bars,” he added. They “deserve to cross the bridge like I did”. His release came just four days after Fernando Alban, a Caracas city council member accused of taking part in a failed drone attack on President Nicolas Maduro, died in pretrial detention, an incident that sparked international outrage.

Authorities say the 52-year-old committed suicide by jumping out of a 10th-floor window of the state intelligence service headquarters. But his supporters and family say he was tortured to death and then thrown out.</s>Activist Lorent Gomez Saleh has been freed and secretly transferred by Venezuelan authorities to the international airport of Maiquetía, one hour from Caracas, to be “referred” to Spain.

Arrested since 2014, Saleh was detained by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) and was banished by order of the self-proclaimed Truth Commission of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) after a statement released on the government television VTV. The student leader, president of the NGO Operation Freedom and winner of the 2017 Sakharov Prize, was never proven any crime after his audience was deferred more than half a hundred times.

For the mother, Yamile Saleh, it was not possible to meet him, she only received a phone call in which he heard his voice from the prison where Gómez Saleh was detained, waiting to meet his son after knowing unofficially on Friday that the activist would be released.

According to the statement issued by VTV, Saleh was subjected to various psychological evaluations in which he had manifested violent, destructive and suicidal behaviors that put his life at risk.

The exile of Saleh has been described as unconstitutional, by the NGO Penal Forum.

“According to our Constitution, in the final paragraph of Article 50: No act of the Public Power may establish the penalty of estrangement of national territory against any Venezuelan. In other words, banishment is prohibited, Gonzalo Himiob Santomé, director of the NGO, said on Friday.

The official statement says that the released political prisoner will be sent to Spain at the request of his mother Yamile Saleh. However, the news took the woman by surprise, who was on the outskirts of El Helicoide Sebin prison. I did not know anything about this, I thought they were going to give it to me here, but it's free and that's the most important thing.”

The activist was deprived of freedom since the wave of protests in early 2014 and his presentation hearing was deferred 53 times.

Alban case and the pressure on the press

The Union of Workers of the Press of Venezuela (Sntp) denounced on Wednesday October 10 that journalists have received threats for reporting on the death of Councilman Fernando Alban, who died after falling from a tenth floor, according to the official version, while he was under State custody at the Sebin headquarters in Caracas.

The publications in printed newspapers and digital platforms of the country have concentrated on evidencing, for example, the contradictions between the public prosecutor of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, and the Minister of the Interior, Néstor Reverol, who, without an investigation of by means, they affirmed that the suicide had occurred from different places of the Sebin building.

The opposition and the international community question the official version, calling for an impartial investigation.

A group composed of specialists from Brazil, the United States and Mexico was authorized by the Organization of American States (OAS) to create a fund to provide food, medical care and legal assistance in Venezuela.

 For its part, the Mercosur Parliament called for an exhaustive investigation into the councilor's death.

Deputy Williams Dávila announced that he will urgently address violations of human rights in Venezuela in the Parlasur.

You are responsible for action or inaction, omission or consent, and from this moment on, you will be persecuted by justice for the rest of your life, Dávila said from Caracas last Wednesday.</s>Emotional, the 30-year-old spoke to reporters and Venezuelans at Madrid's airport just a day after being freed from the cells of state intelligence services in Caracas.

"After four years I can see the sunrise, I saw it today," he said.

His release -- which was welcome by Spain on Saturday -- was such a surprise that he was still digesting it, he said.

"In Venezuela there are innocent people behind bars," he added. They "deserve to cross the bridge like I did".

His release came just four days after Fernando Alban, a Caracas city council member accused of taking part in a failed drone attack on President Nicolas Maduro, died in pretrial detention, an incident that sparked international outrage.

Authorities say the 52-year-old committed suicide by jumping out of a 10th-floor window of the state intelligence service headquarters. But his supporters and family say he was tortured to death and then thrown out.

Saleh had in the past denounced what he said was the torture inflicted on detained activists and the deaths in custody.

The United States and Venezuela's opposition say Maduro's authoritarian government has some 200 "political prisoners".

The Venezuelan regime is struggling to manage the fallout from economic collapse in the once wealthy country, whose leaders are under US sanctions.

Maduro, meanwhile, accuses the United States of manipulating the opposition in his country and of seeking to oust him.

Saleh is the president of NGO Operation Freedom, which works to promote human rights, democracy and civil liberties in Venezuela and the rest of Latin America.

He was kicked out of Colombia in September 2014 for illegal "proselytising activities" and the Venezuelan government says he has links with Colombian paramilitary forces.

In 2017, he was one of the recipients of the European parliament's prestigious Sakharov prize for human rights, which went to several Venezuelan opposition activists.
Venezuela releases political activist Lorent Saleh due to his poor mental health, after a prolonged campaign by and talks with the Spanish Office for Latin America. Saleh had been detained for over four years by secret services in Venezuela without trial, and is being transferred to Spain.