CARACAS: Venezuela's universities launched a 24-hour strike on Thursday to demand the release of students jailed during more than three months of anti-government protests that have left 42 people dead.
At least 18 public and private universities were taking part with marches and rallies in the capital Caracas and other major cities across the country.
Riot police blocked a march by law students and lawyers headed to the Attorney General's Office to demand the release of colleagues recently taken into custody.
The Federation of Associations of University Professors accuses the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro of "criminalizing protest."
University students have been at the forefront of the sometimes violent demonstrations against the government.
Although they have diminished in intensity lately, the protests have exposed explosive public discontent over high crime, soaring inflation and widespread shortages in this OPEC nation with the world's largest oil reserves.
Authorities put the total number of arrests at 3,102 since the protests started February 4 and say 252 people remain in custody.
Keta Stephan, a leader of the professor's federation, said students make up 3,000 of those arrested and 164 were still in jail.
"We are protesting for the release of the students," she said in an interview with a local radio station.
"They aren't delinquents, they aren't terrorists. They are students," she added.
"We hope that this will be enough for the government to listen and understand that protests are not resolved with repression."
The strike has been criticized by some pro-government student groups.
It comes amid a freeze in a dialogue between the government and opposition representatives over the continued detention of protesters.
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