CARACAS: A former Venezuelan defence minister and ally-turned-critic of the late president Hugo Chavez has been released on parole after spending more than six years in prison on corruption charges, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Raul Isaias Baduel, who was instrumental in restoring Chavez to power after an attempted coup in 2002, was released on Wednesday night from the Ramo Verde military prison, his lawyer said.

“He has been granted conditional release,” his lawyer Omar Mora said.

Baduel, who stepped down as defense minister in late 2007 amid a falling out with Chavez, was convicted on corruption charges in 2010 and sentenced to seven years and 11 months in prison.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2015

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