By 1998 Colombia had been facing years of high levels of violence, with paramilitaries from the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC) expanding their presence to many parts of the country, Continue reading 1998: Persecution against human rights organisations
Tag Archives: Foundation Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners
“We need guarantees for our lives and to carry out our work”: Franklin Castañeda
On 8 October, ex-president and current senator for the Centro Democrático party, Álvaro Uribe Vélez was questioned by the Supreme Court of Justice about alleged witness manipulation and bribery in relation to declarations against him for possible ties to paramilitary groups. Continue reading “We need guarantees for our lives and to carry out our work”: Franklin Castañeda
“A drop of justice in an ocean of impunity”
On 10 May 2019, PBI travelled to Tunja (Boyacá department) to accompany Fernando Kekhan, member of the Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee (Comité de Solidaridad con Presos Políticos) and lawyer in the case of the extrajudicial killing of Jorge Enrique Hernández Castro. In the square known as the Plaza de las Nieves Continue reading “A drop of justice in an ocean of impunity”
Criminalisation of social protest
In Colombia, 2013 was marked by important demonstrations[1] at which grave human rights abuses were committed, and the police and military authorities used excessive force. At the initiative of the Foundation Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (FCSPP), a hearing was held on 31st October at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on the situation of social protests in Colombia at which the petitioners (FCSPP, Asociación Campesina del Catatumbo (Ascamacat), Corporación Reiniciar, the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR), the Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (CPDH), and the Luis Carlos Pérez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP)) expressed their concern for the repression of social protest in Colombia.[2] Continue reading Criminalisation of social protest
Land restitution: the case of Hacienda Bellacruz
The Foundation Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (FCSPP) also provides integral accompaniment and legal representation for farming communities in land restitution cases. The case of Hacienda Bellacruz, now known as Hacienda La Gloria in southern Cesar, is perhaps its most emblematic. Continue reading Land restitution: the case of Hacienda Bellacruz