A Venezuelan court has frozen assets of a top opposition leader who is in hiding following corruption charges by the government of leftist President Hugo Chavez, the government said today.
A Caracas court granted a state prosecutor's request to freeze property held by Manuel Rosales, a former presidential candidate who is charged with illicit enrichment, said Venezuela's attorney general, Luisa Ortega.
She called on Mr Rosales to come out of hiding and attend a preliminary hearing about the charges on Monday, when a court could order his arrest while he awaits trial. No date has been set for the start of the trial.
Ms Ortega said she had no evidence that Mr Rosales had left the country, contrary to rumors.
Mr Chavez's critics call the case against Mr Rosales a witch-hunt meant to emasculate the opposition, but the president's supporters call it a simple corruption investigation and accuse Rosales of evading justice.
Authorities say Mr Rosales, mayor of the second city of Maracaibo, was unable to explain some $60,000 in income when he was governor of the oil-rich state of Zulia.
Last month, political allies of Mr Rosales said he went into hiding, insisting he could not receive a fair trial under the Chavez government.
Congress in recent weeks approved a law allowing Chavez to appoint a leader to oversee the governance of Caracas, weakening the influence of the capital city's recently elected opposition mayor who is a fierce Chavez critic.
Reuters