The Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV) denounced this Tuesday the “illegitimate” detention of the union members Jose Elias Torres and William Lizardoarrested since November, and demanded from the authorities a certificate of life of both leaders.
Through a statement, CTV warned Both union members are in a defenseless condition. and without due process having been respected, which is why he demanded his immediate release.
The union organization maintained that there is no official information about the causes of the arrests and warned that the leaders They remain isolated from their families and lawyerswhich – in his opinion – constitutes a serious violation of his fundamental rights.
Complaint of violation of freedom of association
The CTV stressed that the freedom of association is an essential pillar of any democratic system and recalled that The protection of union leaders is supported by the Venezuelan Constitution and by international agreements signed by the country.
“The freedom of union leaders is a guarantee of the rule of law,” stated the labor union, which warned about the impact that these arrests have on the exercise of labor representation and social dialogue.
Who are José Elías Torres and William Lizardo?
Jose Elias Torres is general secretary of the CTV and participates as a union representative in the Social Dialogue Foruman instance in which the Executive, business organizations, labor confederations and the International Labor Organization (ILO) intervene.
William Lizardo, for his part, is president of the Federation of Construction Workersa sector that the CTV describes as key to national productive activity.
According to figures from the NGO Foro Penal, in Venezuela there are 902 political prisoners, of which 782 are men and 120 women, according to the balance published on December 20.
The government of Nicolás Maduro and the Attorney General’s Office reject these figures and deny that there are detainees for political reasons, maintaining that all people deprived of liberty face charges for common crimes.
