Venezuelan opposition leader imprisoned

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been sentenced to 13 years and nine months in prison, international media claim.

The prominent figure, was found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014 in which 43 people - from both sides of the political divide - were killed.

Lopez had been held in a military prison since February 2014 after handing himself in following numerous protests. Fighting broke out between his supporters and pro-government activists outside the courthouse in Caracas, while the verdict was being awaited according to reports.

The BBC reports that the court ruling was revealed by Lopez's Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) political party and later confirmed by his lawyers, with his defence team saying earlier on that there had been serious irregularities in the trial, with the judge hearing 138 witnesses for the prosecution but only one of the 50 witnesses and pieces of evidence submitted by the defence.

Lopez was born into a well-off family with links to the business and oil sector and he was educated in the US. He came into prominence when he was elected mayor of Caracas's Chacao district in 2000.

He was later accused of playing an active role in street protests which led to the brief removal from power of the then President Hugo Chavez, in 2002.

The BBC adds that aeveral other opposition leaders have also been held in detention and their fate has divided opinion in Venezuela, with US government and the United Nations calling for their release.

For many poorer Venezuelans, Lopez is seen as a dangerous figure who incites violence and coups against the government and who is out of touch with the needs of most ordinary people, but his supporters say he is a scapegoat for current President Nicolas Maduro during the country's economic crisis that has led to shortages of basic goods.