Venezuela bans demonstrations that could interfere with or influence the election of a new constituent assembly on Sunday, July 30, 2017 local time.
"Those who violate the ban are threatened with imprisonment between 5 and 10 years," said Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol as quoted by the BBC on Friday (28/07/2017).
"Mass meetings, demonstrations and concentration of people or other similar actions that may interfere with or influence the course of the electoral process are prohibited across the country," Reverol said in a televised address.
He said there would be high security on the streets during the election period. Then as many as 96 places across the country will be created to process crimes related to disruption to the election process.
More than 100 people have been killed in violent protests against the Venezuelan government since April. The opposition sees it as a step toward dictatorship.
President Nicolas Maduro said that his opponents had to "leave the road to rebellion", adding he was willing to start a "round table dialogue within the next few hours".
The new constituent assembly to be elected by the Venezuelan government of 545 members will rival the current National Assembly held by the opposition and has the power to rewrite the constitution.
President Nicolas Maduro justified the new institution as a way to bring peace back to a divided state.
In a 48-hour protest in Venezuela, a 49-year-old died in the northern state of Carabobo on Thursday, July 27.
The Venezuelan opposition has also pledged to continue mass demonstrations on Friday, despite new rules imposed by the government. Prohibition of activities will take effect from Friday to Tuesday, 28 July to 1 August.
They then voiced their reactions via Twitter, to encourage people against the ban to disrupt the run of constituent assembly elections by holding a demonstration on Friday.
The action was called a "Venezuelan takeover".
Earlier on Wednesday, July 26, the United States imposed sanctions on 13 senior Venezuelan officials, including Reverol. The penalty relates to freezing assets and terminating the American entity to do business with the country.
Maduro responded by portraying the US as an imperialist determined to rule the world. He called the sanctions "illegal, inhuman and unprecedented".
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