Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, threatened with arrest for insisting he was the rightful winner of July presidential elections, urged prosecutors not to partake in what he called political persecution.
Mr Gonzalez is the target of an arrest warrant issued Monday over the opposition's insistence that incumbent President Nicolas Maduro stole the 28 July vote.
The opposition released polling station-level results it says show Mr Gonzalez, 75, won by a landslide.
Venezuela's electoral authority announced a win for Mr Maduro within hours of polls closing but failed to provide a full breakdown, claiming a cyber-attack on its systems.
The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognise Mr Maduro's claimed victory without seeing detailed voting results.
The opposition's publishing of election results is at the root of the warrant for Mr Gonzalez on charges including usurpation of public functions, forgery of a public document, incitement to disobedience, sabotage, and association with organized crime and funders of terrorism.
On Wednesday, he made an appeal through his lawyer, Jose Vicente Haro, for Venezuela's attorney general "not to prosecute acts that are not of a criminal nature, not to initiate political persecution."
Mr Gonzalez has been in hiding for a month, and Mr Haro explained he had ignored three successive summons to appear before prosecutors because he was in a position of "defencelessness."
Mr Haro met with Venezuela's Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, whom critics say is aligned with Mr Maduro, along with the rest of the justice system.
After the meeting, Mr Saab released a statement saying Mr Haro had "acknowledged the constitutional and legal powers" of Venezuela's prosecutors.
"Tomorrow, we will make the whole truth known," Mr Saab said without giving details or explaining what he meant.
The president has said Mr Gonzalez belongs behind bars along with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado - whom Mr Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, replaced on the ballot at the last minute after she was barred from running.
'Widespread' violations
The disputed election outcome sparked Venezuela's worst unrest in years, with 25 civilians and two soldiers killed, according to authorities.
Nearly 200 people were injured and more than 2,400 arrested.
Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Gustavo Petro of Colombia were scheduled to meet Mr Maduro for talks on the crisis, "probably" Wednesday, according to Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo.
Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador may also take part.
A presidential source in Brazil, however, said he did not know of any meeting.
Venezuelan political analyst Mariano de Alba wrote on X that "expectations of mediation are very low, especially after the warrant against Edmundo Gonzalez."
On Tuesday, Brazil and Colombia - leftist allies housing millions of Venezuelan refugees - had expressed "deep concern" about the arrest warrant.
Tensions with the United States also rose sharply this week after the United States seized a private aircraft used by Mr Maduro in the Dominican Republic and flew it to Florida, citing sanctions violations.
The standoff continued as a US official reported that a US Navy sailor had been detained by Venezuelan authorities.
Human Rights Watch in a report issued on Tuesday accused Venezuelan authorities of committing "widespread human rights violations" against protesters, bystanders and opponents in the aftermath of the disputed vote.
