Jose Vicente Haro, lawyer of Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, arrives at the Attorney General's office after a court had issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes, in Caracas, Venezuela September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
CARACAS (Reuters) -The lawyer for Venezuela opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez said on Wednesday the attorney general's office would not formally receive a writ about why Gonzalez ignored three summons to testify before a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Gonzalez, the opposition's erstwhile candidate, had a warrant issued for his arrest on Monday on accusations of usurpation of functions, falsification of public documents and conspiracy, among other charges.
The summons were based on a related case - an investigation into a website where the opposition posted copies of vote tallies from a disputed July election.
Lawyer Jose Vicente Haro told journalists he waited for nearly two hours, was told his document could not be received because it did not have the right authorization and then told the system was down, though Haro said he saw other documents being accepted.
He was then asked to return in the afternoon, Haro said, and was not given back the copy of the writ he had tried to hand in.
"It's because of these types of situations that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has not complied with the summons that he was given," Haro said. "We are trying to exercise our defense but now you've seen the difficulties we've had."
The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what Haro said.
(Reporting by Levis PalmaWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb)
