国际英语新闻:Venezuelan courts revoke house arrest for opposition leaders

CARACAS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Two Venezuelan courts on Tuesday revoked house arrest for two opposition leaders, saying they were planning to flee the country and had violated terms of their house arrest by making political statements and speaking to media.

Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were charged with "plans to flee" and "failing to comply" with the conditions of their house arrest, according to the Ministry of Communication and Information.

The Fifth and Sixth Courts for the Caracas Metropolitan Area handed down the decision "once they had verified the failure to comply with the conditions that were set for them to remain under house arrest."

The men were taken from their homes in the early hours of the day to the Ramo Verde Penitentiary in northern Miranda state.

In violation of their terms, both men were actively campaigning against the elections held on Sunday for a National Constituent Assembly (ANC), urging supporters to boycott the initiative, the ministry said.

Ledezma had agreed to make no declarations to the press, but on Monday released a video in which he described the ANC elections as a "fraud."

Lopez is serving a nearly 14-year jail sentence for instigating violence, arson and other crimes in connection with anti-government protests, and was released from prison last month.