Leopoldo Lopez, the 43-year-old Venezuelan opposition leader who is accused of inciting violent anti-government protests in early 2014, is standing firm to his convictions even as he stands behind bars.

In his most recent court appearance, in a case for which he faces the possibility of a 13-year prison term, Lopez cautioned Judge Susana Barreiros about the outcome of the trial, The Associated Press reports.

"I have to tell you, when we get out, we will be even more determined," he said.

Lopez said the young judge lacked courage, comparing her to a hired assassin.

Lopez was instrumental in riling up hundreds of thousands of anti-government supporters into the streets in demonstrations that demanded the resignation of Socialist President Nicolás Maduro. In the end the protests left over 40 people, on both sides of the political spectrum, dead.

Lopez publicly turned himself into the National Guard after holding a speech in which he gave heart to thousands of his supporters.

The Venezuelan government's assertion is that the ultra right wing Lopez has duped the people, pretending to rally ordinary folks who were sick of crime and inflation while actually paving the way for a U.S.-backed overthrow of the government.

The Harvard-educated former mayor of the economically thriving suburb of Chacao is a bona-fide political martyr now, and he is apparently unwilling to compromise, informing the AP unity isn't a goal in and of itself.

With his youth, wealthy background, and his former TV host wife Lilian Tintori, Lopez was already a celebrated Venezuelan figure. His recent imprisonment has made the charismatic conservative a worldwide symbol of oppression and has even sparked U.S. legislation that puts sanctions of Venezuela.

It is the hope of defense attorney Juan Carlos Gutierrez that the trial will keep international eyes on Lopez and bring pressure on the current administration, as he believes that Lopez's liberty “depends on Maduro and not a judge."

So far in the case against Lopez, Judge Barreiros has denied all but one of the defense's 63 proposed witnesses and let the prosecution call more than 100.

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