The head of Venezuela's Supreme Court said Edmundo Gonzalez, who insists he beat President Nicolas Maduro in the country's July 28 election, was in contempt of court after refusing to answer a summons on Wednesday.
Responding to an appeal by Maduro, the court summoned the election's 10 candidates and representatives of the parties that nominated them to attend what it said was a certification of the results.
"Please...let it be recorded in the minutes that (Gonzalez) did not appear and that he did not comply with the summons," said court president Caryslia Rodriguez.
Venezuela's electoral authority - which the opposition accuses of being biased towards Maduro - declared Maduro the winner of the election early on July 29 with around 51% of the vote. But it has yet to produce the voting tallies.
The opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and Gonzalez, a 74-year-old former diplomat, says it has copies of the voting tallies that show it won the election with more than 7 million votes, compared to Maduro's 3.3 million votes. That result is broadly similar to that predicted by independent exit polls.
Numerous Venezuelan opposition leaders have faced arrest and imprisonment or fled into exile in recent years and Rodriguez's comments came shortly after Gonzalez published a letter saying he would be at risk of arrest if he went to the summons.
"If I go to the electoral chamber (of the Supreme Court) in these conditions I will be totally vulnerable due to powerlessness and violation of due process and I will put at risk not only my freedom but, more importantly, the will of the Venezuelan people as they expressed on July 28," Gonzalez said in the letter posted on X earlier on Wednesday.
In Venezuela, contempt of court is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and fines, lawyers said.
Representatives of three groups that supported Gonzalez's candidacy appeared at the hearing, according to a state television broadcast.
LIVESTREAMED RAID
The disputed election led to a wave of anti-Maduro protests across Venezuela and advocacy groups have raised alarms over security forces rounding up suspected protesters in the so-called "operation knock-knock." Authorities say police are targeting people accused of committing violent crimes during the demonstrations.
Late on Tuesday, Maria Oropeza, a coordinator for Machado's Vente Venezuela political movement, broadcast a raid on her home in Guanare, in Portuguesa state, live on Instagram.
The video appears to show security officers attempting to break down a metal grid at her home entrance and asking her to accompany them. Before the video cut to black, Oropeza could be heard asking to see a warrant.
Oropeza's current whereabouts is unknown. Opposition campaign group Comando con Venezuela's chapter in Portuguesa state shared a video of the arrest after it had been broadcast live.
Attorney general Tarek Saab has already launched a criminal probe against Machado and Gonzalez for inciting security forces to break the law, after they published a joint letter calling for police and military to stand with Venezuela's people.
While Russia and China, among others, have congratulated the socialist Maduro on his win, many Western countries have expressed skepticism and asked the electoral authority to publish a full vote tally.
Chile's leftist President Gabriel Boric rejected Maduro's victory on Wednesday, saying he had "no doubt" Venezuela's government had committed fraud to hold on to power.
That prompted an angry rebuttal from Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil, who added that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had spoken to Maduro and that Istanbul had congratulated the Venezuelan people on the election.
In a post on X, the Turkish presidency said Turkey "will continue to support the dialogue process in Venezuela."
