UK Government Urges Venezuela to Take Urgent Action Over Political Crisis

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A spokesman to UK Prime Minister Theresa May called on Monday for the Venezuelan authorities to take urgent action to prevent further deterioration of the situation in the country and reiterated London's demand to free political prisoners.

"It is a tragedy that so many people have lost their lives in protests in Venezuela. We’re clear that urgent action must be taken to stop the situation getting worse. The UK has repeatedly called on the [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro government to work with the opposition, release political prisoners and show respect for democracy and human rights," the spokesman said, as quoted by The Guardian newspaper.

On July 30, Venezuela elected the Constituent Assembly, which is expected to rewrite the country's constitution. The Venezuelan opposition, as well as the European Union and the United States, among other countries, refused to recognize the constituent body's legitimacy. On August 1, following the election of the assembly, Venezuela's key opposition figures Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were seized from their homes by the Venezuelan police.

The assembly's election was held amid protests that had erupted in the country in early April when the country's Supreme Court decided to curb the legislative powers of the National Assembly. The court's decision was reversed, but the protests continued. The protests ahead of the assembly's election resulted in at least 10 deaths, while the total number of fatalities amounting from months of protests is more than 100.