Venezuelans protest Alex Saab's detention

Some Venezuelans have gathered and protested the continued detention of businessman Alex Saab in Cape Verde.

Held on Saturday in the capital city Caracas, the protesters held placards and called into question the competence of President Nicolas Maduro and his government. They accused Maduro of not being able to get Mr. Saab back to the country insisting that the arrest and detention of the business mogul was politically motivated.

A similar action was held in January for the same purpose.

Mr. Saab, a Colombian businessman linked to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was arrested by police in Cape Verde in June last year on his way to Iran aboard a private jet. The 49-year-old was arrested on the orders of the U.S. on allegations of corruption. The U.S. wants him extradited to face charges of corruption, but Venezuela has taken a stance against that decision as Mr. Saab’s lawyers fight to stop the process.

Femi Falana, lawyer of Mr. Saab argued at the ECOWAS court that his client who is under house arrest cannot "be subjected to imprisonment and legal proceedings by Cape Verde" because he is a diplomat of Venezuela and must be accorded all the privileges of a diplomat.

According to him, his client was on his way to discharge diplomatic duties of Venezuela in Iran when he was arrested by local police in Cape Verde. Mr. Falana at the hearing of the case on Friday, February 5, 2021, said, it was surprising that Cape Verde continued to allege that Mr. Saab is not a diplomat and that there was nothing wrong with how it has handled the businessman.

Meanwhile, Venezuela says Saab is a diplomat.