委内瑞拉总统为杀人犯辩护

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has defended jailed killer¹ "Carlos the Jackal" and several world leaders he says are wrongly considered "bad guys".

委内瑞拉总统乌戈·查韦斯为被囚禁的杀人犯“胡狼卡洛斯”和部分世界领导人辩护，称他们被错认为是“坏人”。

"Carlos" was jailed for life in France in 1997

In a speech to international socialist² politicians, Mr Chavez said "Carlos", a Venezuelan, was not a terrorist but a key "revolutionary fighter".

He is serving a life sentence in France for murders committed in 1975.

Mr Chavez also hailed（致敬，欢呼） Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

'Great nationalist'

Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, gained international notoriety（恶名） in the 1970s as a mastermind（幕后操纵者） of deadly bombings, assassinations³ and hostage-takings.

He was captured in Sudan in 1994 and handed over to France, where he was jailed for killing⁴ two French intelligence officers and an alleged⁵ informer（告密者） in 1975.

In his speech late on Friday in Caracas, Mr Chavez said: "I defend him. It doesn't matter to me what they say tomorrow in Europe."

He said he believed Carlos had been unfairly convicted, and called him "one of the great fighters of the Palestine Liberation Organisation⁶".

The Venezuelan leader has previously⁷ called Carlos a friend, and is reported to have exchanged letters with him in the past.

In his speech, Mr Chavez also described Presidents Mugabe and Ahmadinejad - who like Mr Chavez are strong critics of the US - as brothers.

About former Ugandan President Idi Amin, Mr Chavez said: "We thought he was a cannibal（食人者）... I don't know, maybe he was a great nationalist, a patriot⁸."

Idi Amin seized power in 1971. About 300,000 people were killed during his eight-year rule.