Eduardo Torres
Eduardo Torres is a lawyer and human rights defender from Venezuela. He works in the legal team of the Venezuela Program Education-Action on Human Rights (PROVEA), a non-governmental organisation promoting and protecting economic, social, and cultural rights (DESC). Eduardo Torres provides legal assistance to victims of severe human rights violations when seeking support from national and international bodies such as United Nations and the International Labour Organisation. Eduardo Torres is a graduate student at the Law School of the Central University of Venezuela, where he is also a member of the Sindicato Asociación de Profesionales Universitarios en Funciones Administrativas y Técnicas (APUFAT).
HRDs have been working under restrictive policies for many years: the Maduro administration has continued the work begun by Chávez in restricting civil space and delegitimising HRDs, repeatedly accusing them of undermining the Venezuelan democracy with the alleged collaboration of the United States. HRDs are discredited and criminalised by state-controlled media (television, radio, print media) on a weekly basis.
