Thursday, October 29, 2015
Meet Nelson Mejía, who allegedly pressures prosecutors from the Public Ministry
Source: El Periódico Venezolano
Former prosecutor Franklin Nieves, who handled the case against Leopoldo López, reported that officials at the Public Ministry are intimidated into following orders.
When asked whom he would hold responsible for the irregularities in the case against Leopoldo López, ex-prosecutor Franklin Nieves named Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello. He also mentioned Nelson Orlando Mejía Durán, stating that he pressures prosecutors at the Public Ministry to ensure compliance with directives. Furthermore, he claimed that Mejía was the one who instructed the linguists studying the speech of the Voluntad Popular leader to support his condemnation. Here are key details about his life:
Nelson Mejía Durán is currently the Director of Common Crimes at the Public Ministry.
He is 37 years old, born on February 14, 1978.
He joined the Prosecutor’s Office in April 2004, according to records from the Venezuelan Social Security Institute (IVSS). In 2011, he was promoted to acting director of organized crime, as documented in Official Gazette No. 39,764 on September 23 of that year.
In 2010, he divorced Cruz Marina Quintero Montilla, with whom he has two daughters. At that time, he was serving as the anti-corruption director.
Currently, according to Runrunes, he is married to Perla Jaimes, a well-known defense attorney for the old Globovisión and for businessman Nelson Mezerhane.
He has known Jaimes since at least 2007. That year, while Mejía Durán was prosecutor 36, he had to handle the case initiated by then-Minister William Lara against journalist Leopoldo Castillo, host of the television show Aló Ciudadano. His now-wife was the defense attorney at that time.
Mejía has been involved in at least three significant political cases: The case against Eligio Cedeño and Gustavo Arraiz; the investigation against military officer Carlos Alfonzo Martínez in 2005; and, finally, the inquiry related to the Antonini Wilson case.
Tags: corruption