Thank you so much for having us here to comment on our experience, especially in the last year, in Venezuela.
I'm here as a Venezuelan citizen, as a mother, as an arts professional, and as a sister of Leopoldo Lopez. Leopoldo, my brother, has been persecuted by the regime for the last 10 years. He's had more than 20 trials. He was not allowed to run for mayor in 2008 and he opened a case that he won at the International Court in 2013.
The Government of Venezuela and the high officials on many occasions had tried to not let him run for office, not let him have his political rights. Last year a protest started on February 12, a student protest that was accompanied by several political leaders, including lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, Mayor Antonio Ledezma, and my brother, Leopoldo Lopez. The protest went to the attorney's building. It was a regular, non-violent, pacifist protest, a demonstration, asking for what students and what citizens in general want. We want human rights for all the citizens. We expect the right to live, the right to have a safe life, the right to have a health system, the right for education, human rights, liberty of expression to be given to all the citizens.
After the protest happened and the demonstrators left the site, a situation happened. My brother was not there, neither political leaders.... Two homicides occurred. One homicide was a young student, Basil Da Costa, and another one, Juan Montoya. In that situation, the government immediately said that my brother was guilty, and an order of arrest happened against him. Leopoldo wasn't at that place at that time and many videos were taken of that situation.
Two days later, he was in hiding, and the videos came out in the newspaper, Ultimas Noticias. We could see how the two people who had committed the homicides were from the SEBIN. SEBIN is the national police. They were guilty of those two crimes. Nonetheless, the attorney general said that my brother was guilty. He was not guilty of homicide, but they set other charges, including the four charges against Leopoldo.
Can you say them for me, Carlos?