Noam Chomsky asks Hugo Chavez to release judge

CARACAS, Venezuela — Leftist intellectual Noam Chomsky is calling for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to grant clemency to a judge who has been detained since 2009 for releasing a banker accused of corruption.

Chomsky has issued a public letter declaring himself in “total solidarity” with Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni.

The MIT linguistics professor told The Associated Press that his private communications with the Chavez government may have improved the conditions of Afiuni’s detention. But he said he has so far failed to secure her release.

Venezuela’s socialism-preaching president has often touted Chomsky as an inspiration. His government has accused Afiuni of evasion of authority and corruption, and Chavez has called her “a bandit.”