WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch called on Venezuela Tuesday to halt criminal proceedings against what it said is one of Latin America's prominent human rights lawyers.
"Carlos Ayala Corao, a distinguished Venezuelan jurist and human rights expert, was summoned to appear this morning before a Caracas public prosecutor," Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "The prosecutor was to notify Ayala of the opening of a criminal investigation against him, apparently for alleged involvement in the failed April 2002 coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
"Ayala, who is currently president of the non-governmental Andean Commission of Jurists, is a former president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights."
Ayala appeared before the prosecutor and was told his case has been postponed. He was ordered to present himself next week, the group said.
"This is a clear-cut case of political persecution, targeting someone who has been an effective critic of the Chávez government's human rights record," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
