Humberto Prado Sifontes
Humberto Prado Sifontes is the Director of the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones – OVP (Venezuelan Prisons Observatory). The OVP documents cases of violations against, and promotes the rights of, persons in detention in Venezuela. In 2009 Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes was the winner of the Canadian Embassy in Venezuela's first human rights award, and in 2004 he was elected an Ashoka Fellow.
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.
