The Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) condemned the forced disappearance of union leaders José Elías Torres and William Lizardo. It demanded that the State immediately report the whereabouts of both union leaders, guarantee their life and physical integrity, allow urgent access to medical care and communication with their families, as well as proceed with their immediate release.
The Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) condemned the forced disappearance of union leaders José Elías Torres and William Lizardo, who, according to the political organization, were arbitrarily detained by state security agencies and remain incommunicado, without the authorities reporting on their whereabouts.
William Lizardo, president of the Federation of Construction Workers (Fetraconstrucción), has been missing since November 27, after being detained in San Diego, Carabobo state, by alleged officials of the Intelligence Division of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB). To date, family members and lawyers do not know his location.
The PCV warned that Lizardo, 66, suffers from a serious heart condition and requires daily medication, to which he has not had access since his arrest, which represents an immediate risk to his life. Furthermore, he denounced that the authorities have refused to provide information about his condition and that his relatives have been subjected to intimidation, facts that he describes as serious human rights violations.
*Read also: Nicmer Evans’ wife demands health guarantees: “He had digestive tract surgery”
For his part, José Elías Torres, general secretary in charge of the Central Workers of Venezuela (CTV), remains in forced disappearance since November 29, when he was detained at his residence in Caracas, also by PNB officials. According to the PCV, despite the legal appeals filed by his relatives—including habeas corpus actions—the authorities have not offered a response and his name does not appear in official detention records.
Faced with this situation, the Communist Party of Venezuela demanded that the State immediately report the whereabouts of both union leaders, guarantee their life and physical integrity, allow urgent access to medical care and communication with their families, as well as proceed with their immediate release.
The organization warned that the persecution and criminalization of the labor movement constitutes a flagrant violation of fundamental rights, and contributes to deepening the political and social crisis that the country is going through.
“Defending rights is not a crime,” the PCV stressed, while reiterating its demand for amnesty for political, social and union activists detained for exercising their right to organize and protest.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
Post Views: 576
