Caracas (AFP) - Supporters rallied around the wife of Venezuela's opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, calling for peaceful protests after he got nearly 14 years in prison for his role in deadly anti-government demonstrations.

The European Union joined them in denouncing a "harsh" verdict, while Washington said it was "deeply troubled" by the treatment of the US-trained economist.

The ruling, which critics say is politically motivated, is expected to fan tensions in Venezuela, where runaway inflation and basic goods shortages fueled last year's protests against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist administration.

Lopez, 44, was accused of inciting the violence that led to 43 deaths and some 3,000 people being wounded.

Judge Susana Barreiros found him guilty of "damage and arson, public incitement and conspiracy," the attorney general's office said.

Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori gave an impassioned speech before dozens of supporters in an eastern Caracas plaza, calling for people to take to the streets one week from Saturday, as the crowd chanted, "Yes we can!"

"I call on you," she said, to come out on September 19 "to build our victory, to take over the streets peacefully and democratically, with strict discipline and no violence."





- 'Great sacrifices' -





Tintori, who spoke after visiting Lopez in prison, read a letter from her husband in which he said: "I do not regret the decision that I made."

"Great causes deserve great sacrifices," he said.

Lopez wrote that he was "convinced of the goodness" of this cause, "which is none other than the liberation of a people that today suffers the painful consequences of a model that failed economically, politically and socially."

The opposition leader will remain at the Ramo Verde military prison outside Caracas, where he has been held since February 2014.

In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was "deeply troubled" by the conviction and sentencing.

The decision "raises great concern about the political nature of the judicial process and verdict, and the use of the Venezuelan judicial system to suppress and punish government critics," Kerry said.

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The statement came after he called his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday to discuss steps to fully restore ties.

The United States has frosty relations with Venezuela's leftist regime, and the two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010.





- 'Insolent meddling' -





Maduro said that Venezuela is "reviewing" the steps taken towards normalizing relations with Washington.

The US government is "not going to play us with double standards," Maduro said at an official event broadcast on state television.

"I'm reviewing all the relationship that we were building with the United States government," he said.

Washington "must learn to respect Venezuela and have relations in terms of equality," Maduro added.

Foreign Minister Rodriguez earlier blasted Washington via Twitter for its "insolent meddling."

"The criminal that the United States defends promoted terrorist acts in 2014 in Venezuela," she charged, noting that Washington's statement came on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In Brussels, an EU spokesperson said Lopez and a group of students also on trial had not been afforded "adequate guarantees of transparency and due legal process."

"The EU hopes that the avenues available for redress will allow to review these harsh verdicts in a fair and transparent manner," the statement said.

The sentencing was also condemned by Human Rights Watch and exile groups in Miami, where more than 100,000 Venezuelans have settled, many of them since late president Hugo Chavez rose to power in 1998.





- 'You know that I'm innocent' -





The charges against Lopez are linked to protests against the Maduro administration that took place between January and May 2014.

Lopez was sentenced to 13 years, nine months and seven days prison, defense lawyer Roberto Marrero said.

The first reaction by a government official came from Correctional Services Minister Iris Varela, who tweeted: "No to impunity and no justice for the cheap monster... He was responsible for 43 victims who now rest forever because of his fascist adventure."



