Banker claims to be political prisoner of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sunday, 03.01.09
Banker claims to be political prisoner of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez

Venezuelan banker Eligio Cedeño, jailed on fraud and tax charges for the past two years, has launched a campaign to be declared a political prisoner of President Hugo Chávez' government.

Cedeño's campaign is being directed by attorney Robert Amsterdam, known for his defense of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former president of a Russian oil-company now jailed in Siberia and a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin.

Amsterdam said authoritarian governments like Chávez's often jail political opponents on tax or business fraud charges so that human rights groups will overlook their cases.

''Cedeño is a political prisoner because he facilitated the exit of Chávez opponents from Venezuela,'' Amsterdam said.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/926952.html



Eligio Cedeño

http://www.wgzavocats.com.nyud.net:8090/images/amsterdam.jpg http://cache.daylife.com.nyud.net:8090/imageserve/05yI9Gw2Az1ec/610x.jpg

Robert Amsterdam, Cedeño attorney

In Vladimir Putin's Russia, the political opposition may be hunted down and murdered in the streets, sometimes even after they have fled the country. In Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, the urban crime rate has increased in recent years. In other words, the two countries are exactly the same.

Washington Post guest contributor and "international lawyer" Robert R. Amsterdam wants to know why human rights groups aren't making this important connection (hint: because it's retarded).

http://www.borev.net/2009/01/

[silverweb]

1. Ha!

A political prisoner because he isn't allowed to do just whatever the hell he wants with impunity, defrauding people and working to overthrow his democratically elected government.

Good luck with that, you asshole crook. Rot.

[Peace Patriot]

2. Right. If only we dealt with bank criminals here the way they do in Venezuela.

Commit fraud, go to jail.

But no, here you get to commit bank fraud and be given a trillion dollars in taxpayers' money, no strings attached.

This guy (and the Miami Herald) sure picked a bad moment to tout the fascist terrorists' banker as a political prisoner. Not a lot of sympathy here, I think.

Rinse, repeat, try again next year, Miami--when we see how deep the hell hole is, that our own criminal bankers have thrown us into.

The lies just never stop coming.