The NGO Provea insisted that “Eduardo Torres, like all political prisoners, deserves to be fully free.” He was held in El Helicoide and was held incommunicado for almost five months.
Provea reported that its lawyer Eduardo Torres received a visit from a family member last Thursday, October 2, in the Yare II prison, located in the state of Miranda, after almost five months of incommunicado detention.
Through his count ofthe NGO recalled that Torres has not had a preliminary hearing, since it has been postponed three times.
This Thursday, October 9, human rights defender Eduardo Torres will be detained for five months. Since last May 9, when he was arrested around Parque Central, in Caracas, after leaving a meeting, he remained incommunicado.
Torres was held in the cells of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) in El Helicoide, but while there he did not have the right to receive visits. A public defender was appointed for him and he is not allowed to appoint a trusted lawyer.
The compliance coordinator ProvideMarino Alvarado, explained last September that due to the violations of Torres’ rights, the NGO filed an amparo action, but the court declared it inadmissible. «We appealed and it is in the Constitutional Chamber, but since May 12 there is also a Habeas corpus and there has been no action. They have not even complied with what is required by law, such as notifying the Ombudsman’s Office,” he denounced and added that the only thing there is is the appointment of the magistrate.
This Wednesday, October 8, the NGO insisted that “Eduardo Torres, like all political prisoners, deserves to be fully free.”
Eduardo Torres’ first hearing was suspended, without justification. The court maintained that he was not transferred by Sebin officials and nor was a telematic hearing held. The second call that was planned for September 8 did not happen either.
Provea was able to learn unofficially “that the third judge against terrorism, named Ángel Betancourt Martínez (in charge of the case) was detained by Sebin.”
Lawyer Alvarado said that “Eduardo was not involved in any activity that threatened the security of the State. “He was a labor lawyer, defender of workers’ rights, trainer of more than 500 union members in labor rights.” He also accompanied relatives of political prisoners. With his arrest, “they tried to silence Provea, but they have not succeeded nor will they succeed. “They are not going to silence us.”
At the time of his arrest, Torres had several cases of forced disappearance. «In May we had 19, then they expanded to 23. Eduardo directly accompanied the families. His arrest is a message of intimidation, but we continue to accompany the detainees and their loved ones,” Alvarado said.
*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.
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