Venezuela's government said on Monday that a jailed opposition lawmaker killed himself by jumping from the 10th floor of the state intelligence agency headquarters (SEBIN) where he was being held, but his party said he was murdered by the government.
Municipal lawmaker Fernando Alban, 56, was jailed last Friday for alleged involvement in the explosion of two drones during a military parade in August that was led by President Nicolas Maduro, interior minister Nestor Reverol said.
"At the moment he was going to be transported to court, while he was in the SEBIN waiting room, he jumped from the window of the building and fell, causing his death," Mr Reverol wrote on Twitter.
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That account differed from the one by chief prosecutor Tarek Saab, who said in televised statements that Mr Alban had asked to use a bathroom and jumped from there.
The opposition First Justice party, for which Mr Alban was a Caracas municipal counsellor, said he was murdered.
"With great pain and thirst for justice we tell the people of Venezuela... that Councilman Fernando Alban was murdered at the hands of the regime of Nicolas Maduro," the party said.
First Justice's national coordinator, Julio Borges, said Mr Alban's lifeless body was thrown from the SEBIN's headquarters on Caracas' Plaza Venezuela. He did not provide any evidence and did not say what led him to believe that Alban was killed.
The party said that Mr Alban's arrest was because of statements he made at recent United Nations meetings in New York denouncing human-rights violations in Venezuela.
The government had previously given no reason for his arrest. On Monday, Mr Reverol said Mr Alban had also been investigated for "destabilising activities directed from abroad".
The chairman of the US Senate foreign-relations committee, Senator Bob Corker, called on Mr Maduro to explain the reasons for Mr Alban's death. Mr Corker was in Caracas on Monday to meet government officials and the opposition to assess Venezuela's economic crisis.
"This is disturbing, and the government has a responsibility to ensure all understand how that could have happened," Mr Corker, a Republican, said on Twitter.
The US imposed new sanctions on several of Mr Maduro's top allies last week as President Donald Trump urged UN members to support a "restoration of democracy" in Venezuela.
Mr Alban's assistant, Mileidy Blanco, said she had begged him to leave Venezuela with his family.
"And he didn't do it. He loved the country too much," she said in an interview outside the SEBIN's headquarters, known as "The Tomb" because of its underground detention facility.
Rights groups and the opposition have said that Mr Maduro's administration is holding hundreds of political prisoners on trumped-up charges intended to stifle dissent. The UN has said detainees are often subjected to ill treatment, including some documented cases that amount to torture.
Authorities have arrested at least 30 people linked to the drone explosions on August 2, which injured seven soldiers.
The government has denied that it is detaining people as political prisoners and said they were fairly jailed.
Mr Alban's lawyer, Joel Garcia, told reporters that when he last saw Mr Alban on Sunday, "he was not beaten, he was fine". He said Mr Alban told him that he had been interrogated, but not tortured.
The Organisation of American States (OAS) condemned Mr Alban's death.
"Direct responsibility of a regime that tortures and murders. This criminal dictatorship must go now from Venezuela," OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said on Twitter.
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If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
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Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
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