Tarek William Saab

Tarek William Saab Halabi (El Tigre, Anzoátegui 1963) is an Arab-Venezuelan politician, lawyer and poet. He is a human rights activist [http://www.analitica.com/Bitblio/tarek/ Tarek William Saab en La BitBlioteca ] ] and a leader of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) party founded by Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela.

The son of Lebanese immigrants, he studied criminal law in the Universidad Santa María and human rights law in the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

He was a member of the Constitutional Assembly that drafted in 1999 the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. In 2000, he was elected a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly and, in 2004, Governor of Anzoátegui State, holding this post since then.

During the coup d'état of April 2002, Saab was imprisoned by security forces after a crowd of coupists had gathered around Saab's home, threatening him and his family. He was held incommunicated for several hours. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18348.htm Venezuela ] ]

While Saab was head of the foreign policy commission of Venezuela's National Assembly in 2002, he was refused an entry visa to the United States. "Reuters" reported that Saab told local television he was denied the visa because a U.S. State Department report "identified him as 'an individual linked to international subversion'." According to Venezuela's "El Universal", Saab gave a press conference, in which he referred to published information that he had been denied the visa as a consequence of his ties with international terrorist organizations. Saab denied that he was associated with international terrorism or subversive groups. [ [http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2002/10/03/pol_art_03106EE.shtml Nacional y Política - eluniversal.com ] ]

Saab has also been accused by critics within his own party (MVR) of participating in electoral fraud in the internal elections. [ [http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2005/04/19/en_pol_art_19A552725.shtml Daily News - eluniversal.com ] ] Ex-governor of Anzoátegui, David de Lima, accused Saab of using his position for political persecution, [ [http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2005/10/10/en_pol_art_10A618655.shtml Daily News - eluniversal.com ] ] [ [http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2005/10/11/en_pol_art_11A618937.shtml Daily News - eluniversal.com ] ] after Saab's wife accused De Lima of mismanagement. [ [http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=69327 El Tiempo - El Periódico del Pueblo Oriental ] ] [ [http://vargas.tsj.gov.ve/decisiones/2005/febrero/1035-17-BP01-R-2005-001-.html TSJ Regiones - Decisión ] ]

Saab has written several literary works in Spanish, among them: "Los ríos de la Ira" (1987), "El Hacha de los Santos" (1992), "Príncipe de Lluvia y Duelo" (1992), "Al Fatah" (México, 1994), "Angel Caído Angel" (1998), "Cielo a Media Asta" (2003), "Cuando Pasen las Carretas" (2003).

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External links

* [http://www.cne.gob.ve/regionales2004/2/gobernadordis=0&edo=2&mun=0&par=0&cen=0&mesa=0&cua=0.html Anzoátegui State Governor Election, 2004 Results]