A judge ruled on Thursday that Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez incited anti-government riots that rocked the streets of Venezuela and left more than 40 people dead over the course of three months in 2014, and sentenced him to 13 years and nine months in Ramo Verde military jail.
Lopez was arrested in February 2014, during the early part of the riots, and publicly called for peaceful resistance to the government of President Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reports. Prosecutors say his speeches sent subliminal messages of violence. The U.N., U.S. government, and several international rights groups have all called for Lopez's release, with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson saying she was "deeply troubled" by the ruling.
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