Venezuelan opposition calls for world's backing at EU prize-giving

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola speaks during the 2024 European Parliament’s Sakharov human rights prize award ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on December 17, 2024. (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on Tuesday urged the world democracies to keep up their support as he received the EU’s top rights prize.

The former presidential candidate fled to Spain in the face of a crackdown after veteran leader Nicolas Maduro claimed victory at disputed polls in July.

The opposition — backed by the European Union and United States — have accused Maduro of stealing the vote and believe Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful winner.

Gonzalez Urrutia said the Sakharov prize, which he won with opposition chief Maria Corina Machado, “symbolises the unity between the world’s democrats, who now need each other more than ever”.

“Venezuela is counting on you, because the fight for freedom and democracy in our country is also the fight for these values throughout the world,” he told clapping lawmakers at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

“Long live a free Venezuela,” he said.

Machado — who is currently in hiding in Venezuela — expressed “great emotion” as she accepted the award on behalf of the Venezuelan people in a video address.

“After years of systematic aggression by one of the most destructive regimes on the planet, the brave Venezuelan people have given infinite testimonies of courage, intelligence, resilience and love,” she said.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola reiterated the EU’s condemnation of “the Maduro regime for the many brutal and cruel attempts to silence the democratic voices of millions of Venezuelans”.

“The iron fist of Maduro cannot crush the spirit and the voices of the Venezuelan people,” she said.

Protests erupted in Venezuela after Maduro claimed reelection, despite results published by the opposition appearing to show their candidate won by a landslide.

Twenty-eight people were killed and nearly 200 were wounded in the unrest. More than 2,400 were arrested.

Maduro’s swearing-in ceremony is set for January 10, with the populist leader seeking to use it as a moment to showcase his support.

But Gonzalez Urrutia has announced that he will seek to return to his homeland on that day to take his rightful office.

In an interview with AFP on Monday he said he hoped his arrival in the country would represent the “start of a new era” for Venezuela.

The EU’s Sakharov prize — named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov — is awarded annually, with previous prominent recipients including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and Russia’s Alexei Navalny.