Activists from across the world have signed a manifesto calling for the release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The statement was published by ALBA Movements and the International Peoples’ Assembly (AIP).Organizations, social movements, political parties, trade unions, intellectuals, and individuals worldwide added their signatures to the manifesto demanding the release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and National Deputy Cilia Flores from US jail. Among the signatories are English musician Roger Waters, journalist Ignacio Ramonet, and Brazilian Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) leader João Pedro Stédile.In addition to calling for the release of the presidential couple, who were kidnapped on January 3 during the US bombing of Venezuela, the manifesto demands “The cessation of the judicial proceedings stemming from an arrest that violates the United Nations Charter and the immunity of a sitting head of state.”The document also demands full respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and an end to military aggressions, unilateral coercive measures, and regime-change operations. It calls on states and multilateral organizations to reject the doctrine of unlimited extraterritorial jurisdiction that this case seeks to establish.ALBA Movements and the International Peoples’ Assembly (AIP) urge popular movements, unions, parties, jurists, intellectuals, and peoples worldwide to sign and circulate the manifesto, which is available on the AIP portal.They have committed no crimeThe manifesto recalls key aspects of the case. President Nicolás Maduro and Deputy Cilia Flores were “abducted by a foreign military force without any declaration of war.”It also notes that US President Donald Trump has been explicit that “the goal of the kidnapping was always to bring the Bolivarian government to its knees, to hold its president hostage, and to keep him captive in exchange for Venezuelan oil.”The Ultimate Betrayal of Alex Saab and the Fate of Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan PeopleMoreover, the manifesto notes that the US accusations have no basis. It states that under the presumption of innocence, recognized in the US Constitution and in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the burden of proof lies with the accuser. In other words, “it is Washington that must prove their guilt, and to date it has not done so, nor will it be able to do so without resorting to fabricating false evidence devoid of any truth.”Another aspect highlighted by the manifesto is the extreme violence with which First Lady Cilia Flores has been treated, which “constitutes a case of politically motivated gender-based violence that must be brought to light.” (Diario Vea) by Yonaski MorenoTranslation: Orinoco TribuneOT/CD/SF