U.N. urges Venezuela's Maduro to uphold rule of law

The United Nations human rights office on Friday criticised President Nicolas Maduro government's curtailing the powers of the embattled chief state prosecutor and called on it to uphold the rule of law and freedom of assembly in Venezuela.

Ruling Socialist Party officials have launched a series of attacks against the chief state prosecutor Luisa Ortega, from accusations of insanity to promoting violence, after her high-profile break with the government.

"The decision by the Venezuelan Supreme Court on 28 June to begin removal proceedings against the Attorney General, freeze her assets and ban her from leaving the country is deeply worrying, as is the ongoing violence in the country," U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva briefing.

"There are increasing reports that security forces have raided residential buildings, conducted searches without warrants and detained people, allegedly with the intention of deterring people from participating in the demonstrations and searching for opposition supporters," he said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)