Judge in handcuffs is symbol for anti-Chavez camp

[Zorro]

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Once a month, Venezuela's best-known judge is handcuffed, led out of her apartment and escorted by troops to a courthouse to stand trial.

But Maria Lourdes Afiuni refuses to enter the courtroom. It is her way of saying she won't get a fair hearing.

The combative and self-assured judge is being tried on corruption charges that have made her a cause celebre to government opponents who accuse President Hugo Chavez of wielding undue influence over Venezuela's judicial system.

Afiuni infuriated Chavez when she freed a banker from the prison where he was awaiting trial on charges of flouting the country's currency exchange controls. A day after her arrest on Dec. 10, 2009, Chavez said on national TV that he had discussed Afiuni's action with the president of the Supreme Court. "This judge," he fumed, "should get the maximum sentence, and whoever does this — 30 years in prison!"

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More at: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-handcuffs-symbol-anti-chavez-camp-182951623.html