Human rights court rules against Venezuela in 2013 election case

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Venezuelan government violated the political rights of former opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles. The court, based in Costa Rica’s capital, said in a statement that the government violated his freedom of expression, his right to equality under the law and judicial protections. Capriles, an upper-middle class lawyer, used his charisma and non-combative style to win the support of millions and become an electoral threat to then President Hugo Chávez in 2012. Capriles would lose that election, and another the following year after Chávez’s death, to current President Nicolás Maduro. It was during that second bid in 2013 that the court on Monday said the government violated Capriles’ rights and favored Maduro.