Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2005 - Colombia

Summary executions

Assassinations and forced disappearances of trade unionists and peasant leaders

Assassination of Mr. Pedro Murillo.⁴¹ On 26 January 2005, Mr. Pedro Murillo, peasant leader and resident of the settlement called "Collective Territory" of Jiguamiandó (Chocó), was assassinated during a military operation by the 17th army brigade.

Forced disappearance of Mr. Miguel Caro.⁴² On 11 February 2005, Mr. Miguel Caro, a member of the board of environmental health office of the municipality of El Castillo (Meta) and peasant leader in the region, where he chaired several community action assemblies, disappeared after leaving Medellín del Ariari, where he had gone for professional reasons. Mr. Miguel Caro was fearing reprisals from paramilitary forces since 11 November 2004, when he and other persons filed a complaint for corruption against several officials, including the mayor, Mr. Arvey Martínez.

On 12 February 2005, the police found Mr. Caro's motorbike, riddled with five bullets, in the vicinity of Medellín del Ariari, along with documents relating to his complaint.

Attempted assassination and forced disappearance of two members of USO.⁴³ On 2 March 2005, Mr. Rafael Cabarcas, leader of the Oil Industry Workers' Trade Union (Unión Sindical Obrera – USO) in Cartagena (Bolívar), and one of his bodyguards, Mr. Andrés Bohorquez Ortega, were victims of an assassination attempt in Cartagena.

In addition, Mr. Orlando Gómez Alquichire, an engineer affiliated with USO (Putumayo), might have been kidnapped on 21 February 2005.

Attempted assassination of Mr. Elieser Morales Sánchez.⁴⁴ On 13 March 2005, Mr. Elieser Morales Sánchez, member of the National Association of Hospital Workers (Asociación de Trabajadores Hospitalarios – ANTHOC), was the victim of an assassination attempt in the Teusaquillo district of Bogotá. One of the hired killers got out of a vehicle and attempted to force Mr. Morales to get in. Faced with resistance from Mr. Morales, the killers began to fire at him. The victim succeeded in running away and calling for help. Finally, a taxi took Mr. Morales, who was shot in the abdomen, to the San Ignacio Hospital of Bogotá. This was the fourth time Mr. Morales Sánchez was the victim of an assassination attempt.

Assassination of Mr. Adán Alberto Pacheco Rodríguez.⁴⁵ On 2 May 2005, Mr. Adán Alberto Pacheco Rodríguez, treasurer of the Trade Union of the Caribbean Coast Electrical Sector Company (Sindicato de la Empresa del Sector Eléctrico en la Costa Caribe), was killed by two individuals on motorbikes, who fired at him while he was on the terrace of his parents' home in the Las Palmas district of Barranquilla.

Assassination of Mr. José María Maldonado.⁴⁶ On 17 May 2005, Mr. José María Maldonado, a member of the Rural Workers' Union of the region of Atlántico (Sindicato de Trabajadores Agrícolas por el Departamento del Atlántico – SINTRAGRICOLAS), was assassinated in the town of Ponedera (Atlántico) by two individuals on motorbikes, who were most likely members of a paramilitary group operating in the region. 15 days earlier, Mr. Maldonado had been threatened and attacked by two individuals who forced him out of his house and shot at him.

Status of the investigation into the assassination of Messrs. Héctor Alirio Martínez, Jorge Eduardo Prieto Chamusero, and Leonel Goyeneche Goyeneche.⁴⁷ On 14 July 2005, a Prosecutor for the Human Rights Unit of the Ministry of Justice described as "a war crime and a crime against humanity" the assassinations of Messrs. Héctor Alirio Martínez, president of the Regional Association of Peasants (Asociación Departmental de Usuarios Campesinos – ADUC), Jorge Eduardo Prieto Chamusero, president of the National Association of Hospital Workers (ANTHOC) in Arauca, and Leonel Goyeneche Goyeneche, director of the United Confederation of Workers (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores – CUT). The Prosecutor stated that the union leaders had "not been shot down in combat but were cruelly murdered," that they "were in a position of inferiority in relation to the soldiers" and that they were "shot in the back." According to the Prosecutor, the soldiers acted "with criminal intent, protected by their military status and following the orders of one among them or of the person in charge of the operation." He also stated that testimony and scientific evidence showed that the victims were killed at point-blank range and that the scene of the crime had been disguised to hinder the investigation.

Messrs. Héctor Alirio Martínez, Jorge Eduardo Prieto Chamusero, and Leonel Goyeneche Goyeneche, spokespersons for organisations working for peace and justice in Arauca, were murdered on 5 August 2004. After their deaths, the authorities claimed that their execution had occurred during a military operation led by members of a mechanised battalion of the Revéiz Pizarro army based in Saravena (Arauca). The vice-president of the Republic and the spokesman for the battalion had accused the assassinated persons of belonging to a subversive movement. For his part, the Minister of Defence had asserted that they were "delinquents," that they were armed, and that warrants had been issued for their arrest.

Assassination of Mr. José Trinidad Torres Muñoz.⁴⁸ On 26 July 2005, Mr. José Trinidad Torres Muñoz, representative for the National Agrarian Coordinating Committee (Coordinador Nacional Agrario – CNA) and a member of the management team of the Social Integration Committee of Catatumbo (Comité de Integración del Catatumbo – CISCA), was assassinated in the city of Teorama (Santander).

Assassination of Mr. Jairo González.⁴⁹ On 29 July 2005, Mr. Jairo González, a peasant leader and secretary general of the Small Farmers' Union of Bolívar (Sindicato de Pequeños Agricultores de Bolívar – SINPABOL) was stopped by men in military uniform in the "Hobo" neighbourhood, in the village of Carmen (Bolívar). The men forced him to get out of his vehicle before killing him and burying him in a common grave.

Forced disappearance of Messrs. Nilson Severino Franco Ortega and Emidio Prado Trujillo.⁵⁰ On 4 August 2005, Mr. Nilson Severino Franco Ortega, nephew of Mr. Rafael Esquivel Ortega, treasurer of the National Union of Food Industry Workers (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de las Industrias de Alimentos – SINALTRAINAL), was stopped by four armed men, in Andalucía (Valle del Cauca), and forced to get into a vehicle with no license plates.

On the same day, Mr. Emilio Prado Trujillo, brother of Mr. Carlos Prado Trujillo, treasurer of the Barranquilla section of SINALTRAINAL, and of Mr. Alvaro Prado Trujillo, treasurer of the Cali section of the Steel Workers' Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Metálica – SINTRAIME) also disappeared in Andalucía. He was approached by four armed men who told him that they "had warned [him]." According to witnesses, the men then made him get into the same car that had been used in the abduction of Mr. Nilson Severino Franco Ortega.

By the end of 2005, both men were still reported missing.

Assassination of Mrs. Belén Hincapié Patiño.⁵¹ On 9 August 2005, Mrs. Bélen Hincapié Patiño, a school teacher and a member of the Antioquia Teachers' Association (Asociación de Institutores de Antioquia – ADIDA), was murdered in the village of Rio Verde, municipality of Sonsón (Antioquia). In the past, Mrs. Belén Hincapié Patiño had been the victim of threats and acts of harassment on several occasions.

Attempted assassination of Mr. Hober Mesa Rendón.⁵² On 10 August 2005, Mr. Hober Mesa Rendón, leader of the National Trade Union of the Employees of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Science (Sindicato Nacional de los Empleados del Instituto de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses – SINDEMEDILEGAL) in the municipality of Virginia (Risaralda), was the victim of an assassination attempt after the Institute received two telephone threats saying, among other things, that a reward of 10 million pesos (more than 3,600,000 euros) would be given for the killing of three officials of the Institute. Mr. Hober Mesa Rendón was driving towards Pereira when two men on motorbikes fired at him three times.

Torture and assassination of Mr. Luciano Enrique Romero Molina.⁵³ On 11 September 2005, Mr. Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, leader and former human rights secretary of SINALTRAINAL and an active member of the Foundation Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (Fundación Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos – FCSPP), was found dead, stabbed with a knife forty-seven times, in Valledupar (Cesar). Mr. Romero Molina benefited from a special protection programme of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after receiving several death threats, which had forced him, among other things, to leave his region. By the end of 2005, no investigation into this assassination had been opened.

Assault against several ANTHOC leaders.⁵⁴ On 25 November 2005, a bomb exploded at the Maria Immaculada Hospital in Florencia (Caquetá), as several ANTHOC leaders were arriving, among them the national president of the association, Mr. Yesid Hernando Camacho Jiménez, Mr. Wilson Pérez, president of the ANTHOC section of Caquetá, and Mr. Alfredo Castor Hurtado, president of the section of the city of Florencia, along with other officers of the Caquetá section. Mr. Jairo Antonio Fajardo, president of the Association of Assemblies of Cartagena del Chaira was killed, and 39 people were injured, including the above-mentioned leaders. Later, in the course of the investigation, Mr. Antonio Fajardo was accused of planting the bomb, as he had been sentenced several times in the past, notably for "rebellion".

Assassination of Mr. Luis Melo Bastidas.⁵⁵ On the first of December 2005, Mr. Luis Melo Bastidas, president of the Farmers' Association of Southwestern Putumayo (Asociación Campesina del Sur Occidente del Putumayo) and a community leader of the rural zone of the city of Puerto Asís (Putumayo), was stopped by paramilitaries, who forced him to get out of the bus on which he was travelling to Puerto Vega. On 2 December 2005, his body was discovered at the Puerto Asís garbage dump.

Assassinations and forced disappearances of civil society representatives

Assassination of Mr. Rafael Enrique Prins Velásquez.⁵⁶ On 19 February 2005, Mr. Rafael Enrique Prins Velásquez, city councillor for District no 1 of the city of Manague (Bolívar), was murdered by an armed and hooded civilian while out in the street. Several days earlier, Mr. Prins Velásquez had published in his newspaper APOCALIPSIS some strong criticism of the poor management of city funds for transit and transportation. He had also, in another publication, denounced irregularities in the implementation of the Basic Health Care Plan (Plan de Atención Básica en Salud – PAB), managed by the Health Department.

Torture and extra-judicial executions of two members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and their families.⁵⁷ On 21 February 2005, Mr. Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra, a leader and member of the Internal Council of the Community of Peace of San José de Apartadó (Antioquia), his spouse, Mrs. Bellanira Areiza Guzmán, and his 11-year-old son, Deiner Andrés Guerra, were all murdered. First detained by men in uniform identified as members of the 11th brigade of the Colombian army, they were then taken to the property of Mr. Alfonso Bolívar Tuberquia Graciano, a member of the Peace Council of the humanitarian zone of Mulatos. Mr. Alfonso Bolívar was also executed, along with his wife, Mrs. Sandra Milena Muñoz Pozo, his 2-year-old son, Santiago Tuberquia Muñoz, and his six-year-old daughter, Natalia Andrea Tuberquia Muñoz.

Their bodies were found and identified, after an inquiry conducted on 25 February 2005 by a commission of Peace Community members resulted in the finding of the mutilated body of a child. A judicial commission made up of members of the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de la Nación) and the Public Prosecutor's office (Procuraduría General de la Nación) then exhumed a common grave on the property of Mr. Alfonso Bolívar Graciano, which contained the bodies of three adults and two young children in pieces. Later, three other bodies, bearing visible signs of torture, were found and identified by members of the community as those of Mr. Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra and his family.

Assassination of Mr. Stivenson Torres and attempted assassination of Mrs. María Socorro Abril.⁵⁸ On 24 April 2005, Mr. Stivenson Torres, a member of the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CREDHOS), was killed in the international district of Barrancabermeja (Bucaramanga) by presumed members of a paramilitary group.

Moreover, on 9 November 2005, five men tried to enter the home of Mrs. María Socorro Abril, CREDHOS vice-president and president of the Association of Displaced Persons in the Municipality of Barrancabermeja (Asociación de Desplazados Asentados en el municipio be Barrancabermeja – ASODESAMUBA), seeking to assassinate her.

In the past, CREDHOS members were regularly threatened with death by paramilitary groups operating with the support of the army, and several were killed. In the last few years, these groups strengthened their control over Barrancabermeja, although the city had already a strong military presence.

Assassination of Mr. Julio Miguel Pérez Espitia and forced disappearance of Mr. Rafael David Torres Cerda.⁵⁹ On 19 May 2005, Mr. Julio Miguel Pérez Espitia, husband of Mrs. Simona Velásquez Ortiz, both active members of the League of Displaced Women (Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas – LMD), was murdered at the Tool Producing Unit (Unidad de Producción de Implementos – UPI), in the El Talón District of the town of Turbaco (Bolívar), by means of knives and clubs. Mr. Pérez Espitia was the night watchman at UPI, where paving stones were made for the league as part of the "I dream of a dignified life" project, the purpose of which being to resettle 95 families of displaced women. No office or factory materials were stolen.

On 1 October 2005, Mr. Rafael David Torres Cerda, the nephew of Mrs. Nemecia Cerda Usuga, a member of LMD, disappeared while in the town of Turbaco. Mr. Torres Cerda had been participating in an LMD project in Turbaco, called "Children's Shelter and Community Center 'the Conquest'" (Refugio Infantil y Centro Comunitario "La conquista").

Assassination of Mrs. Maurizia Lafont and her son.⁶⁰ On 28 May 2005, Mrs. Maurizia Lafont, a lawyer, and her son Carlos Enrique Gómez Lafont, aged 18, were shot to death by unknown assailants in their apartment in Cartagena. Mrs. Lafont was well-known for her work in defending the property rights of the natives of the island of Barú, near the Caribbean port of Cartagena, where, for several years, the government developed a programme to reclaim lands in order to build a hotel complex.

Assassination of Mr. Luis Eduardo Tangarife.⁶¹ On 5 June 2005, Mr. Luis Eduardo Tangarife was assassinated by armed "civilians" in the Ciudad Porfía District of Villavicencio (Meta). The attackers would have tried to question him about his intention to run for mayor of La Uribe during the next elections, with the support of the Community Action Assemblies (Juntas de Acción Comunal), of which he was a member.

Forced disappearance of Mr. Iván Ernesto Egas Córdoba.⁶² On 11 July 2005, Mr. Iván Ernesto Egas Córdova, son of Mr. Ramiro Egas Villota, chairman of the Standing Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH), and of Mrs. Alba Lucy Córdoba Zambrano, a member of the Nariño Teachers' Union (Sindicato del Magisterio de Nariño – SIMANA), disappeared while he was returning from Pasto (Nariño), where he was working.

A month later, an unknown individual contacted Mr. Villota and told him that his son had been detained by the paramilitary group from the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC), in retaliation for his human rights activities. A complaint was filed at the office of the local Prosecutor.

Assassination of Mr. Luis Sigifredo Castaño.⁶³ On 7 August 2005, in the hamlet Caño Tigre, municipality of Remèdes (Antioquia), Mr. Luis Sigifredo Castaño, secretary of the local assemblies of Caño Tigre, Campo Viajo and Nacoreto, and a member of the Humanitarian Action Corporation for Coexistence and Peace in Northeast Antioquia (Corporación Acción Humanitaria por la Conviviencia y la Paz del Nordeste Antioqueño – CAHUCOPANA), was assassinated by members of the Bomboná Battalion of the Colombian army. The attackers took him by force from the property where he was working, struck him and dragged him over more than 500 meters before shooting him eight times. They then set the scene to make it appear as though there had been a battle. They dressed him with a uniform and gave him a rifle before leaving him at a nearby house, where they introduced themselves as members of paramilitary groups.

Assassination of Mr. Jose Gregorio Mojica.⁶⁴ On 18 September 2005, Mr. Jose Gregorio Mojica, coordinator of the human rights programme for the Community Action Assembly of "Nuevo Jordán" (Junta de Acción Comunal de "Nuevo Jordán") in the town of Tame (Arauca), was murdered at his home and in front of his family, by four hired killers.

Assassination of Mr. Juan Jesús Zambrano.⁶⁵ On 21 September 2005, Mr. Juan Jesús Zambrano, leader and chairman of the Community Action Assembly of Unir I district (Kennedy), was murdered in Bogotá by two hired killers who shot him twice in the head. In the past, Mr. Juan Jesús Zambrano had been threatened by real-estate developers who did not have building permits.

Assassination of Mr. Pedro Pérez Orozco.⁶⁶ On 4 October 2005, Mr. Pedro Pérez Orozco, a public defence councel for the Atlántico region and former member of the Atlántico section of FCSPP, was assassinated by hired killers waiting outside his home in the northern part of Barranquilla. He had also been an adviser to several social and union organisations in Barranquilla, among them SINTRAIMAGRA, SINTRAHOINCOL, SINTRAINAL, and SINDIBA.

Torture and assassination of Mr. Diego Gutiérrez.⁶⁷ On 13 October 2005, the body of Mr. Diego Gutiérrez, vice-president of the Community Action Assembly of Malavar, was found in El Castillo (Meta), bearing numerous marks of torture: his body had 14 knife wounds on the left side, his testicles and his left ear were cut off, and his teeth had been pulled out.

Human rights defenders have been increasingly repressed in the Malavar region, where there is a strong military presence, particularly by members of the 21st Battalion Vargas and of the 7th Brigade of the national army. In July 2005, soldiers from that brigade had burst into the home of Mr. Felix Gutiérrez González, brother of Mr. Diego Gutiérrez, and had taken him without an arrest warrant to the army headquarters in the city of Granada, where he was detained for 12 hours.

Assassination of Mr. Eislen Escalante Pérez and serious threats against Mr. Amilkar Martínez Arias.⁶⁸ On 14 October 2005, Mr. Eislen Escalante Pérez, president of the Association for the Displaced Victims of the System for a New Colombia (Asociación de Desplazados Victimas del Sistema por una Colombia Nueva), was shot to death by two hired killers on motorbikes as he was leaving his office in Barranquilla.

Messrs. Escalante Pérez and Amilkar Martínez Pérez, a member of the Kankuamos community and a member of the same association, who was present at the time of the murder, were engaged in projects of assistance to internally displaced persons and were devoted to denouncing the mismanagement of funds intended for the displaced, an activity which earned them several death threats. As a consequence, Mr. Escalante Pérez had asked for protection from the appropriate authorities, among them the Ministry of Interior, and had received in response a walkie-talkie.

Mr. Eislen Escalante Pérez had also contributed to strengthening the regional network of the Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination (Coordinación Colombia Europa-Estados Unidos), which coordinates human rights NGOs present in Barranquilla.

The day following Mr. Escalante Pérez' death, Mr. Martínez received new death threats on his cell phone. The threats were reported to the Prosecutor's office, which asked the Security Administrative Department (Departamento Administrative de Seguridad – DAS) to provide an escort for Mr. Martínez, which Mr. Martínez refused however, because of his lack of confidence in the members of DAS.

Extra-judicial execution of Mr. Orlando Valencia.⁶⁹ On 24 October 2005, the body of Mr. Orlando Valencia, an Afro-Colombian from Curvaradó, a member of the Community Councils (Consejos Comunitarios) of Jiguamiandó and Curvaradó and an ardent defender of biodiversity and life in his community, was found in the Léon River, near the city of Chigorodó. Signs indicated that his hands had been tied before his death.

Mr. Orlando Valencia had been reported missing since 15 October 2005, when he was approached by two paramilitaries on motorbikes who had followed him and had shouted, "Come with us or we'll kill you !" in the presence of some members of the "Project Support Solidarity Colombia" (PASC/Canada), residents of the region, and a lawyer from the Justice and Peace Commission (Comisión de Justicia y Paz). When a member of Justice and Peace tried to intervene, he was threatened by one of the paramilitaries, who then forced Mr. Valencia to get on the motorbike before starting off toward Chigodoró.

A few hours earlier, the vehicle in which ten members of the Community Councils of Curvaradó were riding, among them Mr. Orlando Valencia, had been intercepted by the national police, and the passengers were arrested and accused of belonging to the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), before being released a few hours later.

In September 2005, Mr. Valencia had asked for effective protection from the Colombian government in the face of the destruction of biodiversity by palmtree-growing companies and by State and para-State agents. He had also demanded the return of lands that these companies had illegally appropriated.

Mr. Valencia was benefiting from provisional measures of protection granted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos – CoIDH) and before his death had been scheduled to participate in an upcoming conference in Chicago on the human rights situation in Colombia.

Assassination of Mr. Pedro Nel Valencia.⁷⁰ On 26 October 2005, Mr. Pedro Nel Valencia, a lawyer, was assassinated in Bogotá. Mr. Nel Valencia was involved with several court cases denouncing large-scale detentions that had taken place in the region of Arauca. Mr. Luis Zarazar, a judge, who was then with Mr. Valencia, was injured by the bullets the killers fired.

Assassination of Mr. Jesus María Marulanda Pérez.⁷¹ At the end of October 2005, Mr. Jesus María Marulanda Pérez, head of the Humanitarian Area of "La India" (Espacio Humanitario de "La India") in Magdalena Medio, was assassinated by AUC members. When his body was found, it was dismembered.

Assassination of Mr. Arlen Salas David.⁷² On 17 November 2005, Mr. Arlen Salas David, leader of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and coordinator of the humanitarian zone of Arenas Atlas, as well as six members of that community, were attacked by the army in Arenas Atlas (Antioquia). Although Mr. Salas David was seriously wounded by a grenade, the soldiers kept firing at him and his companions, who were trying to help him. When the shooting stopped, Mr. Salas David was dead.

Following this murder, two groups of the San José Community and the Community of La Unión met with army members. The latter admitted to killing Mr. Salas David and threatened the members of the two communities with death, accusing them of belonging to the guerrilla movement.

Later, other soldiers fired on the hamlet of Arenas Altas, forcing the families there to hide. They also fired on the school, with a teacher and students inside, claiming they had done so because they were the target of attacks from that direction. On that occasion, a member of the community, Mr. Hernán Goez, was wounded.

Attempted assassination of Mr. Ernesto Moreno Gordillo.⁷³ On 17 November 2005, Mr. Ernesto Moreno Gordillo, a member of the Colombian Association of Democratic Jurists (Asociación Colombiana de Juristas Demócratas), who had defended several political prisoners, was seriously wounded following an assassination attempt in Bogotá.

Assassination of several defenders in Barrancabermeja.⁷⁴ On 18 November 2005, Mr. Delfin Rafael Pérez Vides, a member of the Barrancabermeja city council (Santander) and defender of the rights of the residents of the El Cerro neighbourhood, was murdered.

Two weeks earlier, Messrs. Jorge Cala, Luis González, and Jaime Quintero, peoples' leaders and also defenders of the rights of the residents of Barrancabermeja, were also murdered.

On 15 December 2005, members of the Barrancabermeja Prosecutor's office and the national army burst into the home of Mr. Delfin Rafael Pérez Vides' mother and threatened her.

Assassination of Mr. Neiro Segundo Yépez.⁷⁵ On 10 December 2005, Mr. Neiro Segundo Yépez, leader of the Displaced Persons of Atlántico (Desplazados en el Atlántico), was assassinated in the village of Juan Mina (Atlántico).

Assassination of Mr. Arturo Díaz García.⁷⁶ On 21 December 2005, Mr. Arturo Díaz García, corregidor⁷⁷ of Toche for the last nine years in the city of Ibagué, capital of Tolima, was killed at his working place.

On 26 June 2005, Mr. Arturo Díaz García had been arrested, along with Mr. José Buriticá, vice-president of the Tolima Rural Workers' Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores Agricolas de Tolima – SINTRAGRITOL), in the city of Cajamarca, at a time when Mr. Arturo Díaz had been denouncing threats from paramilitary groups directed at him and members of the community of the village of Toche for two months. He had later been released.

Arbitrary detentions

Arbitrary detentions of trade unionists and peasant leaders

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Samuel Morales Flórez and Mrs. Raquel Castro.⁷⁸ By the end of 2005, Mr. Samuel Morales Flórez, president of the Arauca section of the United Confederation of Workers (CUT), and Mrs. Raquel Castro, a member of the Arauca Teachers' Association (Asociacion de Educadores de Arauca – ASEDAR) remained in custody in Bogotá.

On 5 August 2004, Mr. Samuel Morales Flórez and Mrs. Raquel Castro had been arbitrarily arrested in Saravena (Arauca) by members of the Revéiz Pizarro mechanised army battalion, which had carried out a military operation on that very day in the village of Caño Seco. Mr. Samuel Morales Floréz was a witness on that occasion to the murder of Mr. Alirio Martinez, Mr. Jorge Eduardo Prieto Chamusero, and Mr. Leonel Goyeneche Goyeneche.⁷⁹ Mr. Samuel Morales Flórez and Mrs. Raquel Castro were then accused of rebellion and of being linked to terrorism.

Moreover, the family of Mr. Samuel Morales Flórez remained the victim of threats and harassment. On 29 July 2005, during his transfer from the prison of Bogotá to Saravena, where a hearing was supposed to take place, Lieutenant Luis Francisco Medina paid a visit to Mr. Samuel Morales in his cell at the Saravena police station and threatened his sisters and his wife. Moreover, his wife learned that Mr. Medina had asked the director of the hospital where she works to fire her.

Additionally, between 21 and 24 September 2005, Mrs. Omaira Morales, Mrs. Matilde Morales, Mrs. Gladis Morales and Mr. William Bustos, respectively sisters and brother-in-law of Mr. Samuel Morales Flórez, received phone threats at their homes from persons claiming to be AUC members. The callers threatened them with attacks on their families and themselves if they did not leave the area within three days. By the end of 2005, no investigation had been opened into these matters.

Arrests of Mr. Over Dorado Cardona, Mr. Iván Castro Reinosa and Mr. Francisco Alirio Salazar.⁸⁰ On 16 January 2005, 17 teachers were arrested in the municipality of Medellín (Antioquia). Among them were Mr. Over Dorado Cardona, Mr. Iván Castro Reinosa and Mr. Francisco Alirio Salazar, leaders of the Human Rights Commission of the Antioquia Teachers' Association (Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Asociación de Institutores de Antioquia – ADIDA). These arrests were carried out during a time of demonstrations protesting against the instituting of an admissions examination for all professionals of the various sectors in order to incorporate public education institutions. The three leaders were released the next day.

By the end of 2005, Mr. Francisco Alirio Salazar continued to be the victim of threats and acts of harassment. Moreover, he has not received his salary since 2004.

Detention of Mr. Álvaro Manzano.⁸¹ On 24 April 2005, Mr. Álvaro Manzano, former president of the Cimitarra River Valley Peasants' Association (Asociación Campesina del Valle del Rio Cimitarra – ACVC) and former city councilman, was arrested on the outskirts of Notepases by members of the New Grenada (Nueva Granada) battalion, on orders of Colonel Castillo, and was subjected to psychological pressure and torture for nearly two weeks.

On 6 June 2005, Mr. Manzano was once again arrested without a warrant by three armed civilians, on the order of the Bucaramanga Prosecutor, and was held in Barrancabermeja by the DAS leader. He was accompanied by Mr. Scott Nicholson, an American observer and a member of the Montana Human Rights Network, an American organisation. Mr. Álvaro Manzano was released on 20 June 2005.

Detention and judicial proceedings against Mr. Javier Dorado.⁸² On 26 May 2005, Mr. Javier Dorado, a unionist and social leader in the Cauca Valley, a teacher member of the Nariño Teachers' Union (Sindicato del Magisterio de Nariño – SIMANA), and a member of the Colombia – Europe-United States Coordination, beneficiary of the protection programme under the Ministry of the Interior, was arrested by agents of the Security Administrative Department (DAS), on the orders of the Prosecutor of section 11. Mr. Dorado was accused of rebellion.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Luis Torres Redondo.⁸³ On 25 May 2005, Mr. Luis Torres Redondo, director of the community of Salado⁸⁴ (Bolívar), president and legal representative of the Displaced Persons' Association of Carmen Bolívar (Asociación de Desplazados de Carmen de Bolívar – ASODESBOL), was arrested by members of the national army and representatives of the Technical Inquiry Corps (Cuerpo Técnico de Investigaciones – CTI) of the Attorney General of the Nation, following a search of his home in the Caracoles neighbourhood of Cartagena by a group of armed men who intimidated members of his family. Mr. Luis Torres was then taken to the office of the Attorney General of the Nation, where he remained in custody until 8 June 2005, accused of rebellion and of being linked to a subversive organisation. By the end of 2005, the criminal investigation was still ongoing.

Detention and judicial proceedings against Mr. Hernando Hernández Tapazco.⁸⁵ On 1 June 2005, Mr. Hernando Hernández Tapazco, leader of the indigenous community of Emberá Chamí and a member of the human rights department of the United National Federation of Agriculture and Livestock Unions (Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria – FENSUAGRO-CUT), was arrested at the Federation headquarters in Bogotá.

In August 2005, his case was transferred from the Prosecutor's office in the city of Manizales to the anti-terrorism unit of the office of the Attorney General of the Nation.

By the end of 2005, Mr. Hernando Hernández Tapazco, accused of rebellion, was still in detention at the prison of Manizales (Caldas).

Detentions of trade unionists in Tolima.⁸⁶ On 21 and 22 June 2005, during an operation carried out by the Unified Action Group for Personal Freedom (Grupo de Acción Unificado para la Libertad de Colombia – GAULA), by the police of the region of Tolima, and by the Prosecutor, 13 persons were arrested and accused of rebellion in Ibagué, capital of Tolima, including Mr. Juan Bautista Acero Trujillo, a member of the Tolima Rural Workers' Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores Agricolas del Tolima – SINTRAGRITOL – FENSUAGRO) and a CUT member.

Detention of Mr. Leodan Robeiro Rosero Morán.⁸⁷ On 25 June 2005, Mr. Leodan Robeiro Rosero Morán, a teacher at the Vegas Rural Co-Education Instructional Institution (Institución Educativa Rural Mixta de Vegas) in the city of Ricaurte (Nariño), a member of SIMANA, and president of the Association of "Anturios Silvestres" Community Centers of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (Asociación de Hogares Comunitarios "Anturios Silvestres" del Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar), was arrested in Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte on the order of the Prosecutor while in the company of three other members of the indigenous community of Awá.

Arbitrary arrest of two student leaders.⁸⁸ On 7 September 2005, the homes of Ms. Diana Morena, a member of the Academic Council of Forestry Engineering Students, and of Mr. Germán Acosta and Mr. Diego F. Sierra, former representatives of the Students' Committee for University Welfare (Comité Estudiantil de Bienestar Universitario – CEBU), were searched by the police in Ibagué (Tolima). Ms. Diana Morena and Mr. Germán Acosta were also arrested.

Arrests of two members of the Federation of Peasants and Miners of South Bolívar.⁸⁹ On 8 October 2005, troops of the Nueva Granada anti-aircraft battalion of Barrancabermeja, accompanied by CTI members, burst into the town of Micoahumado and encircled the inhabitants. They also arrested Mr. Isidro Alarcón Bohórquez, a member of the Federation of Peasants and Miners of South Bolívar (Federación Agrominera del Sur de Bolívar) and director of the Peace Laboratory in the Magdalena Medio (Laboratorio de Paz en el Magdalena Medio), an institution supported by the European Union within the framework of the Programme for Development and Peace in the Magdalena Medio, by the diocese of Magangue, and by several regional and national human rights organisations. Mrs. Laura Cristina Canónico, a friend of Mr. Alarcón Bohórquez, and Mrs. Elba María Galvis, a member of the Federation, were also arrested.

Arrest of Mr. Henry Oswaldo Molina García.⁹⁰ On 18 October 2005, Mr. Henry Oswaldo Molina García, a student leader, was arrested and taken to the offices of the Division of Judicial and Investigation Police (Sección de Policia Judicial y de Investigación – SIJIN) in Barranquilla, where he was brutally beaten. During his detention, he was accompanied by Ms. Sara Melisa Pavón Menéndez, a student. Both were victims of death threats in order to dissuade them from revealing what happened.

Detention of Mr. Jhon Castaño.⁹¹ On 1 November 2005, Mr. Jhon Castaño, leader of the Union of Public Services Consumers (Liga de Usuarios de los Servicios Públicos), who had supported the strike by sugar cane workers in the city of Floride, in the region of El Valle, was arrested in Floride on the order of the Prosecutor and accused of misdemeanour rebellion. As of the end of 2005, he remained in custody.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Samuel Sánchez.⁹² On 13 November 2005, the home of Mr. Samuel Sánchez, secretary of the Quipile section of the Cundinamarca Union of Small Farmers (Sindicato de Pequeños Agricultores de Cundinamarca – SINPEAGRICUN) and a member of the regional assembly of the union, was searched by the police, without a warrant. After several hours of detention, he was ultimately released the same day.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Nicolás Arnoldo Castrillón Sánchez.⁹³ On 14 November 2005, Mr. Nicolás Arnoldo Castrillón Sánchez, vice-president of the Antioquia Peasants' Association (Asociación Campesina de Antioquia), was arrested in Bogotá by members of the national police. He was taken to the police station in the Kennedy district, then to the SIJIN facility. He was accused of "rebellion" by the Attorney General of the Nation. After interrogating him on 18 November 2005, the Prosecutor ultimately concluded that Mr. Castrillón Sánchez was innocent and, as a result, ordered his immediate release.

Arbitrary detentions of civil society representatives

Arbitrary detention of several members of the Commission for Justice and Peace.⁹⁴ On 1 April 2005, workers at the headquarters of the Inter-ecclesiastical Commission for Justice and Peace in Bogotá (Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz – CJP) received a call informing them of the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Enrique Chimonja, Mrs. Johana López, Mr. Edwin Mosquera, Mrs. Mónica Suárez, and Mr. Fabio Ariza, members of the Commission accompanying the communities of Jiguamiando and Curvarado, in the humanitarian zones of "Nuevo pueblo", "Bella Flor Remacho", and "Nueva Esperanza", in the regions of Chocó and Antioquia. On 8 April 2005, members of CJP headquarters in Bogotá were informed that these persons had been released and that they were accompanied by members of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Diocese of Quibdó. The armed men who had arrested them had presented themselves as FARC members.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Ulvio Martin Ayala and Mr. Bryan Cardenas Posada.⁹⁵ On 12 May 2005, Mr. Ulvio Martin Ayala and Mr. Bryan Cardenas Posada, leaders of the Social Corporation for Community Consulting and Training (Corporación Social Para la Asesoría y Capacitación Comunitaria – COSPACC), were arrested in the village of El Morro in the municipality of Yopal (Casanare), while they were making a documentary on the impact on the environment of the activities of the petroleum producing company in El Morro.

Mr. Ulvio Martin Ayala was released at the beginning of October 2005, after spending 147 days in the cells of the 16th brigade of the national army in Yopal.

By the end of 2005, no information was available on the detention of Mr. Posada.

Arrest of Mr. Ceferino Pacho Trochez.⁹⁶ On 15 May 2005, Mr. Ceferino Pacho Trochez, indigenous leader of the community of Yú Yic Kwé, was kidnapped from his home by soldiers present in the villages of Cisneros and Juntas, in the municipality of Dagua (Valle del Cauca). When the Governor and the representatives of the Páez ethnic group attempted to obtain information on his fate, the soldiers told them that Mr. Pacho Trochez was named on an arrest warrant, although they were unable to show it to them. The Governor then demanded that Mr. Trochez be set free, and the commandant and his subordinates attacked her, as well as the ethnic members and other persons from her community, before taking Mr. Ceferino Pacho Trochez away.

Mr. Pacho Trochez had previously been illegally detained on 18 March 2005 by soldiers wearing baklavas and who had taken his picture and fingerprints.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Eliécer Guzmán and Mr. Jésus Berrío and threats against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.⁹⁷ On 30 June 2005, Mr. Eliécer Guzmán, coordinator of the municipality of La Unión, near San José de Apartadó (Antioquia), was arrested on the order of the Prosecutor while returning home. The Prosecutor accused him of having ties to the guerrilla movement and asked him for personal information on members of the Community of San José de Apartadó, warning him that he was "under surveillance". Mr. Guzmán was released after this interrogation.

On the same day, Mr. Jésus Berrío, a member of the Community of San José de Apartadó, was arrested by army members who were probably hiding in order to kill Mr. Aníbal Durango, leader and member of the same community. Mr. Berrío was released, but not without being warned that "their turn would come" for all members of the community.

Arbitrary detention of OFP members.⁹⁸ On 7 July 2005, two motorised officers and a patrol of the national police arrested and violently assaulted members of the Popular Women's Organisation (Organización Femenina Popular – OFP) in Bogotá, including Mrs. Mongui Gómez. Following lengthy negotiations, the OFP members were released, after being forced to sign a document in which they affirmed that they had not been victims of ill-treatment.

Detention of Mr. Ricardo Lorenzo Cantalapiedra.⁹⁹ During the third week of August 2005, after he had several times condemned the massive and arbitrary detentions of inhabitants of the region, Mr. Ricardo Lorenzo Cantalapiedra, a Spanish priest from the Colombian municipality of Uribe, in Meta, was arrested in Uribe and accused of having ties to the FARC, after meeting with some of its leaders, according to the Prosecutor's investigation.

The priest was interrogated, in the presence of the mayor of Uribe and other persons, by a Prosecutor from Villavicencio (Meta).

On 21 October 2005, Mr. Ricardo Lorenzo Cantalapiedra, who had been detained in Bogotá, was released.

Arrest of Mr. Eder Burgos and Mr. Braulio Canticus.¹⁰⁰ On 26 October 2005, Mr. Eder Burgos, judicial expert for the city council of the Awá indigenous community in Ricaurte-Camawari, Nariño, and Mr. Braulio Canticus, secretary of the same indigenous organisation, were arrested in the hamlet of Chucunés, in the city district of Mallama, Pie de Monte Costero region, on the order of a sergeant of the national police. The officer also confiscated a camera, a cell phone, and a planner book. The native leaders were taken to cells at the national police station in the town of Ricaurte.

They were accused of having taken part in a guerrilla incursion, on 25 October 2005, when the Awá people declared their autonomy and asked that all parties to the conflict respect their independence.

Arbitrary detention and judicial proceedings against Mr. Rodrigo Vargas Becerra.¹⁰¹ On 8 November 2005, while Mr. Rodrigo Vargas Becerra, a member of the board of directors of the Valle Del Cauca section of the Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CPDH), was returning to Cali, where he works, he was arrested by members of the Mobile Squadron for the Maintenance of Order (Escuadrón Móvil Anti Disturbios – ESMAD) of Cauca region. He had accompanied indigenous groups from Cauca during a demonstration demanding the return of lands from the El Japio Hacienda, in Santander de Quilichao.

Accused by ESMAD of having planted a bomb, Mr. Rodrigo Vargas Becerra was ultimately released on 10 November 2005, when it was proven that he was at the time participating in a radio broadcast in Santander de Quilichao. However, judicial proceedings against him for "injury and attack on a civil servant" remained pending by the end of 2005.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Diego Figueroa and Mr. William Kayapul.¹⁰² On 30 November 2005, Mr. Diego Figueroa and Mr. William Kayapul, members of the Commission for Justice and Peace (CJP), were arrested, photographed, and violently interrogated in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca), by members of DAS and the national army during a monitoring operation, without apparent reason. They were released after several hours.

Detention of Mr. Roberto Castro Barrios.¹⁰³ On 1 December 2005, Mr. Roberto Castro Barrios, former mayor of the village of Calamar, in the region of Guaviare, and a community leader participating in a humanitarian mission composed of members of national and international organisations and of official media entities from Calamar, was arrested by DAS members, while he was heading, along with other members of the mission, to the Vanguardia airport in Villavicencio. Mr. Castro Barrios was one of the main organisers of this mission, which aimed at gathering criticisms by the population of the effects of the Plan Patriota, a national plan to combat FARC and the populations allegedly supporting them.

On 19 April 2005, Mr. Castro Barrios had been detained for five days by military units of the army's 7th Mobile Brigade. Accused of "rebellion", he had been acquitted on 23 August 2005 by the court of San José de Guaviare.

Threats, harassment and attacks

Threats, harassment and attacks against trade unionists and peasant leaders

Threats against several trade unionists.¹⁰⁴ On 10 February 2005, several union members received death threats by means of a pamphlet bearing the logo of the AUC, slid underneath the door of the Bogotá offices of the National Federation of Agrarian Cooperatives (Federación Nacional de Cooperativas Agrarias – FENACOA). Mr. José Antonio Guerrero García, general director of FENACOA, Mrs. Edilia Mendoza, leader of the National Association of Rural Workers and Inhabitants – Unity and Reconstruction (Asociación Nacional de Usuarios Campesinos – Unidad y Reconstrucción – ANUC-UR), Mr. Everto Díaz, president of the United National Federation of Agriculture and Farming Unions (Asociación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria – FENSUAGRO), and Mr. Germán Bedoya, president of the National Agrarian Coordination Committee (Coordinador Nacional Agrario – CNA), were the specific targets identified in the pamphlet.

Threats against USO members.¹⁰⁵ On 18 February 2005, the Workers Union (Unión Sindical Obrera – USO) was warned of assassination plans against Messrs. Jorge Gamboa Caballero, German Osman Mantille, and Nelson Díaz Vargas, respectively president, auditor and treasurer of USO. USO also received threats from the Capital Block (Bloque Capital), a paramilitary group, in February.

On 3 March 2005, following protests organised in Bogotá, Mr. Edgar Mojica Vanegas, USO national secretary for communications, was followed by a non-identified vehicle.

On the same day, USO offices in Cartagena received a call from a person presenting himself as a dissident member of the Central Bolívar Block (Bloque Central Bolívar), a unit of the AUC, who informed them that a plan was in place to assassinate USO leaders, members of other unions, and leaders of civil society organisations.

These events were part of a systematic plan to harm the trade union. In December 2001, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) had already urged the Colombian government to adopt precautionary measures to protect USO members.

Death threats against and harassment of Mr. Miguel Alberto Fernández Orozco.¹⁰⁶ Mr. Miguel Alberto Fernández Orozco, president of the Cauca section of the United Workers' Federation of Colombia (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia – CUT) and coordinator of the Human Rights and Integration offices of the Colombian Range Integration Committee (Comité de Integración del Macizo Colombiano – CIMA), received death threats on 8 March 2005, the day after the public release of a report on the human rights situation in Cauca.

On 17 October 2005, CIMA members in Popayán (Cauca) received a pamphlet from the AUC accusing them of being "terrorists" and "leftist criminals" and warning them that their "every step was being watched".

On 18 and 19 October 2005, CIMA members in Popayán received two phone calls in which Mr. Miguel Alberto Fernández Orozco and his family were threatened, if they did not to leave the city by the end of the year.

On 1 November 2005, Mr. Miguel Alberto Fernández Orozco was arrested at CUT offices in Popoyán, then brought to a DAS station, where he was accused of having made "false accusations" (Article 435 of the Colombian Criminal Code); "false threats" (Article 347 of the Criminal Code); and of having engaged in "procedural fraud" (Article 453 of the Criminal Code).

On 8 November 2005, the Public Prosecutor in charge of the case granted parole to Mr. Miguel Alberto Fernández Orozco. The charges against him, however, were pending by the end of 2005.

Death threats against several union leaders.¹⁰⁷ On 9 March 2005, the CUT executive committee announced that it had been informed of a possible assassination plan against the union's leaders, specifically Mr. Domingo Tovar Arrieta, director of the CUT human rights department, considered as the main obstacle to the success of the Santa Fé de Ralito negotiations between the government and paramilitary groups. This plan would be carried out by members of the 17th Brigade of the army, based in Carepa and Antioquia, and the 13th Brigade, based in Bogotá.

The other union leaders who would be targeted by the plan were: Mr. Raphaël Cabarcas, leader of the Cartagena section of USO, already a victim of death threats in February 2004 and of an assassination attempt in Cartagena in March 2005¹⁰⁸; Mr. Edgar Mojica, head of the USO national communications office, already the victim of telephone death threats on two occasions and arbitrarily detained in October 2001¹⁰⁹; Mr. Miguel Alberto Fernández Orozco¹¹⁰; Mr. Carlos González, of SINTRAUNICOL in the Valle region, and Mr. Ariel Díaz, head of the CUT-Valle human rights office and a member of the executive council (both men had already been declared military targets in 2004¹¹¹); Mr. Jesús Tovar, vice-president of the Atlanticó section of CUT, and Mr. Evelio Mancera, president of the Atlanticó section of SINTRAIMAGRA, who had been declared military targets by the AUC in late March 2005.¹¹²

These individuals continued to receive threats by the end of 2005.

Parole of Mrs. Luz Perly Córdoba.¹¹³ On 16 March 2005, Mrs. Luz Perly Córdoba, president of the Arauca Peasants' Association (Asociación Campesina de Arauca – ACA), secretary general of FENSUAGRO – CUT and head of the human rights department of this Federation, was granted parole.

Mrs. Luz Perly Córdoba had been arrested by DAS officers on 18 February 2004 in Bogotá on a warrant from the Public Prosecutor. She was subsequently detained at DAS offices in Palo Quemao until 21 February 2004 and then transferred to the "Buen Pastor" prison in Bogotá. On 6 May 2004, she had waived her right to a public defender, citing the absence of procedural guarantees and the lack of respect for her rights. Mrs. Luz Perly Córdoba was later forced to leave Arauca for Bogotá to escape the death threats that she had received from the military and paramilitary groups. IACHR demanded that measures be taken to protect her.

At the end of 2005, Mrs. Luz Perly Córdoba and her family were forced to leave Colombia to escape the threats made against them.

Death threats against SINALTRAINAL members.¹¹⁴ On 28 March 2005, a pamphlet was discovered at the headquarters of the National Union of Food Industry Workers (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentos – SINALTRAINAL) in Barranquilla, declaring the following members of SINALTRAINAL as military targets of the Banana Block of the AUC: Eduardo García Pimienta, Euripides Yance, Evelio Mancera, Eduardo Arévalo, Jesús Tovar, Antonio Andrade, Roberto Borja, Tomas Ramos, Adalberto Ortega, Victor Vaca, Luis Jiménez, Osvaldo Camargo, Elicen Gárces, Jorge Eliécer Sarmiento, Freddy Páez, Ramón Camargo, Germán Castaño, Antonio García and Orlando Pérez Contreras. The pamphlet was discovered as the union's Barranquilla section was preparing petitions for submission to the Coca-Cola companies of the Costa Norte. The competent authorities, including the human rights unit of the Prosecutor's office in the Atlánticó region, received a formal complaint filed by CUT.

Paramilitary operation against union and political leaders in Barrancabermeja.¹¹⁵ In April 2005, an initiative known as the "Final Operation", led by the Capital Block paramilitary group, was allegedly launched to assassinate union leaders and leftist party (political opposition) members in Barrancabermeja. This operation would have targeted well-known leaders who had signed an administrative complaint (derecho de petición) questioning the conduct of the city's Mayor, Mr. Edgar Cote Gravino, specifically: Mr. Juan Carlos Galvis, CUT president, Mrs. Yolanda Becerra, OFP director, Mr. Pablo Arenales, CREDHOS president, Mr. David Ravelo Crespo, a member of the Communist Party, OFP secretary and CREDHOS secretary general, Mr. Jorge Gamboa, president of USO, Mr. Régulo Madero, director of Corporación Nación and a member of CREDHOS, Mr. Francisco Campos, a member of CREDHOS, Mr. Alirio Rueda, USO former president in Barrancabermeja, Mr. Ramón Rangel, head of USO human rights department in Barrancabermeja, and Mrs. Evangelina Marín, head of the Barrancabermeja Teachers' Associations.

Furthermore, a list of people to be assassinated was made public on 18 November 2005. Several union leaders and human rights defenders in Barrancabermeja appeared on the list: Mrs. María Socorro Abril, Evangelina Marín and Yolanda Becerra, and Messrs. Francisco Campo, Régulo Madero, David Ravelo, Alirio Rueda, Ramón Rangel and Álvaro Pérez Vides.

Threats against Mr. Diego Fernando Acosta Salinas.¹¹⁶ On 4 May 2005, Mr. Diego Fernando Acosta Salinas, a student and member of the Colombian Association of University Students (Asociación colombiana de estudiantes universitarios – ACEU), received a telephone call from a person identifying himself as an AUC member and who threatened to kill him if he did not stop his union activities.

Several members of SIMANA declared as military targets.¹¹⁷ At the beginning of June 2006, a message was left under the door of the residence of Professor José Arturo Guerrero Santander, president of the Nariño Teachers' Union (SIMANA), threatening him with death and declaring him a military target, along with Messrs. and Mrs. Arturo Guerrero, Alberto Narváez, Eric Hurtado, José Arévalo, Araceli Ibarra, Eduardo Romo, Carmen Unigarro, Rosaura Oviedo, Nelfí Castro, Carlos Martínez, Alvaro Barcenas, Fabio Muñoz, Aldo Córdoba, Flor Finlai, Carmen Meza, Giraldo Tutistar, Hernando Caicedo, Margota Bolaños, Diego Mejía and Martha Melo. Most of those targeted were teachers and members of SIMANA executive board or the Standing Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Nariño (CPDH-Nariño).

Threats against Mr. Fabián Laverde Doncel 's wife.¹¹⁸ On 3 June 2005, an envelope was delivered to Mrs. Leidy Yohana Vallejo Vallejo, secretary general of José Antonio Galan College and wife of peasant leader Mr. Fabián Laverde Doncel, coordinator of the Farming Programme of the Social Corporation for Community Advisory and Training Services (Corporación Social Para la Asesoría y Capacitación Comunitaria – COS-PACC). The envelope contained the following message: "Madam, if you value your life as well as that of your family, what are you doing there? ... Credit must be given where credit is due ... obviously, José Antonio Galán College of Ubaté, in Cundinamarca, belongs to SINALTRAINAL, an organisation whose members and their families were victims of attacks." When Mrs. Vallejo attempted to file a complaint with the Immediate Response Unit (Unidad de Reacción Inmediata – URI), the police officers argued that they were not responsible for investigating the matter and that a threat did not constitute an offence.

Harassment of members of SINALTRAINAL.¹¹⁹ On 11 June 2005, 30 workers, some of whom were affiliated with SINALTRAINAL, were summoned and illegally confined by Kraft Foods Colombia, S.A. The company demanded that its workers sign a letter of resignation from their respective positions. On orders of the company, riot police allegedly beat the workers, injuring several of them.

Threats against CUT Santander.¹²⁰ On 14 June 2005, unidentified persons left an envelope, dated 13 June and addressed as follows, at the CUT headquarters in Santander: "Certificate of death – for free, unionised companies and the guerrillas of Colombia". It contained the following message: "The AUC Central Bolívar Block has charged the Non-Unionised Companies squad to purge the city of unionists and the servile earthworms of the guerrillas". Two warnings, the first threatening with exile and the second with death penalty, were also addressed to four Santander CUT leaders and two members of FCSPP.

Threats against two members of ACVC.¹²¹ In mid-June 2005, Mr. Ramiro Ortega, former president of the Peasants' Association of the Cimitarra River Valley (Asociación Campesina del Valle del Río Cimitarra – ACVC), was threatened by the commander-in-chief of the "Calibio" battalion of the 14th brigade of the national army. Members of this battalion had met in the village of Santodomingo, in the Cimitarra River Valley, and were stealing supplies from the hamlet. Without any authorisation to do so, the army sent hooded men to seize homes in the town during the night. As a result, fifteen families were forcibly displaced from their homes.

On 13 June 2005, Mr. César Jerez, a member of ACVC and coordinator of the Rural Press Agency (Agencia Prensa Rural), was followed by DAS officers while travelling from San Pablo to Barrancabermeja. DAS agents followed Mr. Jerez in the same truck that had been used to arrest the former president of ACVC, Mr. Álvaro Manzano, in June 2005.¹²² This occurred after Mr. César Jerez requested a protective escort from ACVC, given the ongoing presence of paramilitary contract killers in the river port of Barrancabermeja. Mr. César Jerez had recently taken part in an activity in the Southern Bolívar Comprehensive Development Zone (Zona de Desarrollo Integral del Sur de Bolívar – ZDI), of which evaluation committee he is a member. The ZDI is a joint initiative of the Magdalena Medio Peace Laboratory, ACVC and 36 community action assemblies in Southern Bolívar, that benefits from the political and financial support of the European Union.

Threats against several members of CUT Tolima.¹²³ On 6 July 2005, the secretary of the Tolima section of CUT discovered a woman taking photographs of the union headquarters in Ibagué.

In addition, Mr. Pedro Varón Gutiérrez, president of the Tolima section of CUT, was the victim of phone-tapping and also noticed the presence of individuals on motorcycles around his home.

Finally, leaders of CUT Tolima were declared military targets by paramilitary groups on several occasions.

Death threats against Mr. Hernando Montoya Guevara.¹²⁴ On 2 August 2005, several pamphlets containing death threats against Mr. Hernando Montoya Guevara were found at the mayoral offices of Cartago (Valle). Mr. Hernando Montoya Guevara, who received precautionary measures of protection from the IACHR, was a member of the board of directors of the Union of Workers and Employees of Autonomous Public Services and Decentralised Institutes of Colombia (Sindicato de Trabajadores y Empleados de Servicios Públicos Autónomos e Institutos Descentralizados de Colombia – SINTRAEMSDES), and is today the labour representative to the Executive Council of the Cartago Family Compensation Fund (Caja de Compensación Familiar – COMFAMILIAR).

Since 26 November 2001, SINTRAEMSDES has also benefited from the IACHR protection programme, which was extended to the Executive Subcommittee of Sincelejo (Sucre), in 2004, following increased threats and acts of harassment by paramilitary groups in this area of the country.

Harassment of Mr. Marco Nieves.¹²⁵ On 18 August 2005, in Bucaramanga (Santander), Mr. Marco Nieves, union leader and president of the National Association of Displaced Persons of Colombia (Asociación Nacional de Desplazados de Colombia – ANDESCOL), was followed after having been stopped by the police, who demanded to see his identity papers. Mr. Nieves was heading to the Citizens' Rights and Displaced Persons Forum, accompanied by Mrs. Judith Maldonado, a member of the Luis Carlos Pérez Law Collective of Bucaramanga, when he was followed by two individuals on motorcycles who had just been speaking with two other people, one of whom was the police officer who had initially inspected Mr. Nieves.

Harassment of union leaders in Arauca.¹²⁶ In August 2005, leaders of both civil society organisations and unions in Arauca were victims of threats and attacks, particularly Messrs. Dionisio Fonseca and Oscar Álvarez. Moreover, Mr. Dionisio Fonseca was suspended from the Arauca Electrical Energy Company (Empresa de Energía Eléctrica de Arauca – ENELAR) for more than a month. He was able to return to work thanks to the protection granted to him as a trade unionist.

Acts of harassment against Mr. César Tamayo.¹²⁷ On 3 September 2005, two individuals in civilian clothes appeared at El Bramón, in the village of Ríonegro (Santander), and asked for the place of residence of Mr. César Tamayo, president of the Agricultural Workers' Association (Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas – ASOGRAS). On 23 April 2005, Mr. Tamayo had been the victim of an assassination attempt during a meeting with the El Bramón community. On this occasion, two men from the Central Bolívar Block in Northern Bucaramanga had approached him and threatened him at gunpoint. The intervention of community members helped to prevent the situation from worsening.

Mr. Tamayo and his family were forced to leave the region due to the ongoing threats made against them.

Acts of harassment against Mr. José Onofre Esquivel Luna.¹²⁸ On 12 September 2005, the home of Mr. José Onofre Esquivel Luna, a member of the national executive committee of SINALTRAINAL, in the town of Bugalagrande, Valle del Cauca, was watched by individuals who parked their vehicles in front of his home on several occasions. Similarly, on 19 September 2005, an armed man was noticed making rounds in front of Mr. Esquivel Luna's home.

Threats against social movements in Barranquilla and Cartagena.¹²⁹ On 19 September 2005, the CUT human rights department was informed that State security forces were intending to conduct a series of operations against social movements in the cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena, in order to "prevent possible terrorist attacks" against the Free Trade Agreement negotiations (FTA) taking place in Cartagena.

Acts of intimidation against Mr. Mario Jesús Castañeda.¹³⁰ On 20 September 2005, Mr. Mario Jesús Castañeda, head of the Huila Section of CUT, was stopped by police officers at the Neiva bus station. He was detained for one hour, during which time the police officers searched him and photocopied the documents he was carrying, which contained information on the case of a rape allegedly committed by members of a paramilitary group. Two days later, a letter threatening Mr. Mario Jesus Castañeda and signed by the Central Bolivar Block of the AUC arrived at CUT offices in Neiva.

Dismissal of the secretary general of SINTRAMINERCOL.¹³¹ On 22 September 2005, several human rights NGOs, together with social organisations and trade unions, denounced acts of intimidation by the state-owned company MINERCOL LTDA against unions and social organisations opposing its privatisation (threats, defamation, persecution, pressure, etc.). Thus, Mrs. Lilia Rocío Castañeda, secretary general of the MINERCOL Ltd. National Mining Company Workers' Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Empresa Nacional Minera MINERCOL Ltda – SINTRAMINERCOL), was laid off because of her union activities.

Harassment of several union leaders.¹³² On 12 October 2005, a Prosecutor appeared at the headquarters of the National Agrarian Federation (Federación Agraria Nacional – FANAL), accompanied by police officers, demanding that Mr. Raúl Herrera, treasurer of the Union of Small Agricultural Producers of Cundinamarca (SINPEAGRICUN), hand over several documents in order to, according to the Prosecutor, obtain information on his community. The Prosecutor and police officers appeared during a meeting of several union leaders at FANAL headquarters, following a day of national protest against FTA in the town of Fusagasugá (Cundinamarca). According to the Prosecutor, he interrupted the meeting because he had received information according to which "several dangerous individuals had assembled".

On 24 October 2005, troops of the 39th battalion of the "Sumapaz" army and members of the Attorney General's Technical Inquiry Corps (Cuerpo Técnico de Investigaciones – CTI) searched the home of Mrs. Claudia Lucía Beltrán Mora, a member of the Arbelaez section of SINPEAGRICUN, in the town of San Bernardo (Cundinamarca).

Threats against several defenders in Valle region.¹³³ On 13 October 2005, Mr. Alexander López Maya, a Member of Parliament, received a letter at his Bogotá office containing death threats against himself and several defenders in Valle who had publicly denounced the perpetrators of serious human rights violations in the region. These threats mainly targeted Mrs. Berenice Celeyta Alayón, president of the Association for Research and Social Action (Asociación para la Investigación y la Acción Social – NOMADESC), Mr. Carlos González, president of the Valle section of the University Workers' Union of Colombia (Sindicato de Trabajadores Universitarios de Colombia – SINTRAUNICOL), Messrs. Luis Hernández, Luis Imbachi, Carlos Marmolejo and Oscar Figueroa, leaders of the Union of Cali State-Owned Enterprises Workers (Sindicato de Trabajadores de las Empresas Públicas de Cali – SINTRAEMCALI), as well as Mr. Hernán Sandoval, a public defender in Cali.

Threats against ASOASP leaders.¹³⁴ On 14 October 2005, a package containing a letter signed by the AUC was delivered to the headquarters of the Agro-Environmental Association of the Town of San Pablo (Asociación Agroambiental del municipio de San Pablo – ASOASP), in Nariño, that contained death threats against the leaders of this association, as well as the inhabitants of San Pablo.

This threat arrived as ASOASP, in agreement with the San Pablo mayor's office, and with the support of the Supra-regional Association of the Municipalities of Alto Patía (Asociación Supradepartamental de municipios del Alto Patía – ASOPATIA), was preparing for the fourth town council meeting to plan the 2006 municipal budget. The meeting was held on 23 October 2005.

Threats and ill-treatment of Mrs. Martha Díaz Suárez and Mrs. María Paz Mancilla.¹³⁵ On 9 November 2005, Mrs. Martha Díaz Suárez, vice-president of the Civil Servants' Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores Oficiales) in Santander region, and Mrs. María Paz Mancilla, vice-president of the Bucaramanga section of the same union, both members of the Santander section of CUT, who were leading the negotiations regarding the claims of workers in the town of Los Santos (Santander), were beaten and threatened with death.

Threats, harassment and attacks against civil society representatives

Ongoing harassment of OFP members.¹³⁶ Throughout January 2005, Mrs. Gloria Amparo Suárez, a member of the Popular Women's Organisation (Organización Femenina Popular – OFP), and other OFP project coordinators in the municipalities of Cantagallo and San Pablo, received threats.

In January 2005, a false rumour was circulated asserting that Mrs. Yolanda Becerra, president of the OFP, had been assassinated.

On 24 January 2005, the OFP premises in Barrancabermeja were placed under surveillance by two paramilitaries.

Finally, on 27 January 2005, a paramilitary entered the OFP headquarters asking to speak to the president. He was recognised by Mrs. Yolanda Becerra's security personnel and was made to leave. A few moments later, two other paramilitaries passed the headquarters on bicycles, observing the area. Furthermore, in January, four armed men appeared in the Nuevo Palmira district while Mrs. Becerra was visiting her mother there.

Harassment of Mrs. Teresa Jesús Cedeño.¹³⁷ In January and February 2005, Mrs. Teresa Jesús Cedeño, president of the Permanent Committee for Human Rights (Comité Permanente para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH) in Arauca, was harassed by some AUC members. For instance, on 23 January 2005, her telephone was tapped; on 25 January, her office plaque was stolen with the aim of intimidating her; and on 23 February 2005, she was followed by an individual on a motorbike.

Since 2002, Mrs. Jesus Cedeño has benefited from provisional measures of protection requested by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights due to the constant threats from paramilitary groups operating in the region.

Judicial proceedings, threats and harassment against members of the Justice and Peace Commission.¹³⁸ In 2005, members of the Justice and Peace Commission (Comisión Justicia y Paz – CJP) continued to be the victims of numerous acts of harassment. These acts increased after CJP participated in the Inter-American Court hearing in April 2005, concerning the supplementary granting of provisional measures of protection in favour of the Jiguamiandó and Curvaradó communities.

– Death threats against Messrs. Danilo Rueda, Abilio Peña and Rafael Figueroa. In March 2005, Mr. Danilo Rueda received a written death threat accusing all CJP members of supporting narcoterrorists in the Jiguamiandó region. These threats were made after Mr. Rueda's hearing before the Inter-American Court, on 12 March 2005, during which the CJP denounced, among other things, the palm tree plantations, which were the reason for the forced displacement, and isolation of displaced people, carried out by military forces.

On 4 April 2005, Mr. Danilo Rueda was followed by a vehicle after leaving the headquarters of the NGO Justice and Life (Justicia y Vida).

Later that day, Mr. Rueda and Mr. Abilio Peña were once again followed. On the same day Mr. Rafael Figueroa, a lawyer, was also followed by two men, one of whom was armed, as he was leaving the headquarters of the Justice and Peace Commission. Finally, on 7 April 2005, during a day of national protest against the negotiation process initiated by President Uribe with the paramilitary forces (Acto de Indignación Nacional), a security agent was seen near the members of Justice and Peace.

– Judicial harassment of several CJP members. In 2005, the Second Special Prosecutor (Fiscal Segunda Especializada) with the National Human Rights Unit decided to drop the charges of rebellion, made on 14 May 2003,¹³⁹ against CJP members Mr. Danilo Rueda, Mr. Abilio Peña, Mr. Enrique Chimonja, Mrs. Ana María Lozano and Father Daniel Vázquez, after analysis of false testimonies weakened the charges against them.

Nevertheless, on 11 February 2005, new legal proceedings for rebellion were initiated against the following CJP members: Sister Alette La Torre, Mrs. Johana López, Mr. Wilson Gómez, Mr. Oscar Albarracín, Mr. Enrique Chimonja, Mrs. María Eugenia Mosquera, Mr. Santiago Mera, Leonardo Jaimes, Mr. Abilio Peña and Mr. Danilo Rueda. Furthermore, an attempt was also made to link the international assistant of the Canadian Project of Accompaniment and Solidarity with Colombia (Proyecto Acompañamiento y Solidaridad con Colombia – PASC), Mrs. Tania Halle, with these legal proceedings. These events followed several acts of harassment against CJP members and Community Councils by the military present near the humanitarian zones of "Nuevo Pueblo" and "Nueva Esperanza", and also in the hamlet of La Grande.

These accusations referred to the alleged assistance given to FARC members by the Community Councils of Jiguamiandó, Curvaradó and Cacarica, as well as the alleged delivery of humanitarian aid in Costa de Oro intended to support guerrilla activities.

On 12 April 2005, the CJP received a telegram from the National Human Rights Unit of the Public Prosecutor of the Nation communicating the Prosecutor's refusal to grant legal recognition to the CJP defence lawyer. The Public Prosecutor justified this decision by the fact that judicial proceedings were only at the preliminary inquiry stage. This decision prevented concrete charges against the accused from being known and therefore prevented them from having a fair trial.

– Defamation campaign against CJP members. Mrs. Johana Cabezas Arias, a lawyer, and Mr. Adán Quinto Mosquera, former Río Sucio district town council official, in the Chocó province, slandered CJP members during a press conference on 12 May 2005, in the presence of the Colombian and American military. In particular, Mrs. Johana Cabezas declared that "members of the communities of Cacarica, Truandó, Salaquí and, in general, members of the communities of the lower and middle Atrato are victims of NGOs such as Justice and Peace and CAVIDAD".

Acts of intimidation and threats against Mr. Manuel Denis Blandón.¹⁴⁰ On 26 February 2005, the home of Mr. Manuel Denis Blandón, legal representative of the Cuenca Community Council in Jiguamiandó, was surrounded by a group of ten armed men wearing the emblems of the AUC and the Botijeros and Bejarano battalions of the 17th Brigade. These men then left the area after receiving orders from another army group comprising more than thirty people who crossed the Jiguamiandó river and then watched the area for several hours.

Search of the Sumapaz Foundation headquarters.¹⁴¹ On 30 March 2005, the headquarters of the Sumapaz Foundation, a member association of the Human Rights Seeds of Freedom Collective (Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Semillas de Libertad – CODEHSEL) in Medellín, was searched on an order of the public Prosecutor's department appointed with the Elite Anti-Terrorist Corps (Comando Elite Antiterrorista – CEAT), which would have requested the lead Prosecutor in the trial to establish possible links between the Sumapaz Foundation and the insurgent group Revolutionary People's Army (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo – ERP).

The Foundation's files were confiscated including its accounting files, reports on the human rights situation in the city of Medellín, victims' testimonies and concrete cases of human rights violations. Furthermore, the computer hard disks were copied, including that of the Permanent Committee for Human Rights 'Héctor Abad Gómez' and of CODEHSEL, this office being the headquarters of both organisations.

During the search, Mr. Alejandro Quiceno, a Sumapaz Foundation employee, was arrested by the CEAT and accused of "links with ERP". Members of the Sumapaz Foundation were also interrogated regarding their affiliation with human rights co-ordinations in the city and on a national level.

Intimidation of and threats to CCJ.¹⁴² On 12 April 2005, the paramilitary commander Ernesto Báez gave an interview on the television channel Radio Cadena Nacional (RCN), in which he denied criticism from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia and from several human rights NGOs, including the Colombian Commission of Jurists (Comisión Colombiana de Juristas – CCJ), which he described as "recognised enemies", concerning the negotiation process between paramilitaries and the Colombian government.

CCJ was also the victim of a defamation campaign. In fact, on 1 May 2005, during the traditional worker's demonstration on Labour Day, a leaflet entitled "Colombian workers' unity and solidarity" (Trabajadores de Colombia Unidad y Solidaridad) was circulated with the characteristic letterhead of CCJ. In this leaflet, the CCJ requested a financial contribution from the workers of at least 20,000 pesos and informed them that they would receive a visit from the director of CCJ in the next few days. CCJ denied ownership of this leaflet.

Threats against Messrs. Cristiano Morsolin and Javier Giraldo.¹⁴³ Mr. Cristiano Morsolin, a teacher, an Italian journalist, coordinator of the Independent Observatory on the Andean Region "SELVAS" (Observatorio Independiente sobre la Región Andina) and head of social programmes aimed at the defence of human rights in Latin America, was increasingly threatened and harassed following his denunciation of the massacre of members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on 21 February 2005.¹⁴⁴ In particular, he received a written threat on 7 April 2005.

Father Javier Giraldo, a long-standing supporter of the Peace Community, was also threatened for the same reasons.

Mr. Cristiano Morsolin had also accompanied Mrs. Gloria Cuartas, the former mayor of San José de Apartadó and general secretary of the political group "Social and Political Front", who had publicly asserted the responsibility of the Colombian army in this massacre and was still the victim of acts of harassment and threats by the end of 2005.¹⁴⁵

Serious threats and ongoing harassment against Mrs. Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello.¹⁴⁶ On 13 May 2005, Mrs. Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello, president of the 'José Alvear Restrepo' Lawyers Collective (Colectivo de Abogados "José Alvear Restrepo" – CCAJAR), received a package at her home containing a mutilated and dislocated doll that had been burnt in certain areas and had traces of red paint. The message read in particular: "you have a very beautiful family, be careful not to sacrifice them". The doll was moreover a direct reference to her eight-year-old daughter.

On the same day, an advert was published in the national newspaper El Tiempo, announcing several job vacancies at CCAJAR. Yet the Collective was not aware of this initiative. This announcement was interpreted as a serious threat against members of the Collective. The next day, another advert appeared, from an unknown source, offering security guard positions and giving the address of the CCAJAR headquarters, implying that the organisation was in danger. The date and times for the interviews coincided with those of a meeting organised at the CCAJAR headquarters about a campaign against crimes against humanity in Colombia.

Death threats against two members of CREDHOS.¹⁴⁷ On 24 May 2005, two armed men riding a motorcycle approached a classmate of Mrs. Georgina Morales, a member of CREDHOS, and ordered her to warn her to leave Barrancabermeja within three days. Following these threats, Mrs. Georgina Morales found herself forced to flee Barrancabermeja.

On May 2005, a man telephoned CREDHOS to say that Mr. David Ravelo Crespo,¹⁴⁸ CREDHOS secretary general and OFP secretary, was going to die. In February 2005, he had already been the victim of an assassination attempt.

In June 2005, Mr. David Ravelo Crespo and Mrs. Georgina Morales once again received death threats and have since then not returned to Barrancabermeja.

In March 2005, CREDHOS and the Centre for Investigation and Popular Education (Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular – CINEP) had presented a report listing nearly 170 cases of forced disappearances in Barrancabermeja between 2000 and 2003. The majority of these people were executed by paramilitaries who, according to the complaints, would have been backed by the army.

Threats against Mrs. Sandra Milena Martínez.¹⁴⁹ On 27 May 2005, at about 3 a.m., someone knocked on the door at the home of Mrs. Sandra Milena Martínez, a member of the League of Displaced Women (LMD), in Barrio Paraíso, Turbaco. When attempting to see who it was, she saw a hooded man who ordered her to leave her house that day. The man also warned her that if she did not, her children would suffer the consequences. Mrs. Sandra Milena Martínez lodged a complaint against those acts.

Judicial proceedings against Mr. Adaulfo Aurelio Palmezano Arregocés and threats to his family.¹⁵⁰ Since 3 April 2004, Mr. Adaulfo Aurelio Palmezano Arregocés, community leader in the Guajira region and legal representative of the Chancleta Community Council in the Barrancas municipality, has been detained in prison in Bogotá, accused of collaborating with the guerrilla group in the abduction and murder of the American citizen Mr. Frank Thomas Pescatore.

Judicial proceedings against him have somewhat progressed but not without denying him the right to a fair trial.

Members of the American Embassy participated in the trial and suggested to Mr. Arregocés that he pleads guilty to the charges he is accused of.

Furthermore, in May and June 2005, officials of the State security apparatus (police, army, DAS, SIJIN) threatened and harassed several members of his family.

Breaking-in at the headquarters of the New Rainbow Corporation.¹⁵¹ On 29 June 2005, three armed men burst into the headquarters of the New Rainbow Corporation in Medellín (Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris), a member of the Propedaz network, which operates in the field of regional development and peace programmes and initiatives. After having scared the secretary who was alone in the office, the men stole the institution's mobile telephone and server, containing all the information relating to projects and activities carried out by the Corporation in Antioquia. Computer hardware had already been stolen at the headquarters in Ibagué in 2001, and Aremnia and Bogotá in 2002. Also, in January 2003, eight associates of the New Rainbow Corporation had received death threats.

Attacks on CORPADES.¹⁵² On 10 June 2005, the headquarters of the Corporation for Peace and Development (Corporación para la Paz y el Desarrollo – CORPADES) in Medellín were attacked with explosives. CORPADES is an organisation dedicated to the reinforcement of community organisation process, through artistic training, research and the development of projects, contributing to the construction of peace in Medellín.

Death threats against Mrs. Estibaliz Madariaga.¹⁵³ On 10 July 2005, Mrs. Estibaliz Madariaga, a Spanish aid worker, received a death threat by email, signed by the Block Martin Llanos. The message made reference to the trip Mrs. Madariaga was to make to Colombia on 17 July 2005, and asserted that she did nothing but "denounce a bunch of lies" and that she would return to Spain "in a coffin".

Torture of Mr. Alexander Ustate Arrogoces.¹⁵⁴ During the week of 12 August 2005, Mr. Alexander Ustate Arrogoces, leader of the Chancleta hamlet Community Council, was tortured by members of the army and of the judicial police (Seccional de la Policía Judicial – SIJIN). They also attacked the Chancleta hamlet community in the munipality of Barrancas, Guajira region, on several occasions, in the properties of Boiaber, Suba Tabaco, Sierra Azul and the Patilla hamlet.

Intimidation of indigenous leader Mr. Pedro Alejandrino Campeón.¹⁵⁵ On 15 August 2005, national army troops turned up in the sports and recreational facilities of the Iberia community, Río Sucio municipality, Caldas region, during a celebration of a Cañamomo and Lomaprieta indigenous general assembly. These troops also surrounded the home of Mr. Pedro Alejandrino Campeón, deputy mayor of the Cañamomo and Lomaprieta "municipal" councils, and a member of the directive assembly of the Indigenous Regional Council of Caldas (Consejo Regional Indígena de Caldas – CRIDEC).

End of legal proceedings against several members of the FCSPP.¹⁵⁶ In August 2005 the Barranquilla seventh Prosecutor's office decided, in the absence of proof, to abandon legal proceedings and to close the current inquiry on Mr. José Humberto Torres, a lawyer and a member of the Atlanticó section of the Foundation Committee of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (FCSPP), Mrs. Dolores Villacop and Mr. Diego Muñetón Restrepo, also members of this section. Eight months earlier, the 2nd brigade of the army had requested the Public Prosecutor of the Nation, via an intelligence services report, that several political prisoners' defenders be charged with revolt, abductions and agreement to commit an offence.

At the end of 2005, Mr. José Humberto Torres and Mrs. Dolores Villacop had to leave the country after having received several threats.

On 28 November 2005, Mr. Carlos Arturo Correa, also a member of the FCSPP, was released after having been detained for six months. He was accused of being a member of the FARC. Mr. Hernando Hernández Tapasco, a peasant leader, accused within the same judicial proceedings, was also released.

Break-in at the homes of Mr. Juan Carlos Sandoval and Mr. Dewis Anaya.¹⁵⁷ On 23 September 2005, the home of Mr. Juan Carlos Sandoval, an academic who leads the Barranquilla section of the Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (Comité Permanente para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH), a member organisation of the Colombia-Europe-America Coordination, was broken into and burgled.

Not long prior to this, the home of Mr. Dewis Anaya, an academic and member of the Barranquilla District Teacher's Association (Asociación de Educadores Distritales de Barranquilla), had also been burgled.

Threats against workers in the humanitarian zone of Choco province.¹⁵⁸ In October 2005, members of the 17th military brigade announced that paramilitary troops were preparing to attack peasant communities and to kill international personnel working in humanitarian zones in the Choco province. The military made these threats in front of Canadian aid workers from the Project of Accompaniment and Solidarity with Colombia (PASC), and members of Peace Brigades International (PBI).

Threats against indigenous leaders.¹⁵⁹ In October 2005, several leaders and members of the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas del Norte del Departamento de Cauca – ACIN-CXAB WALA KIWE), received threats aimed at destabilising the joint actions of indigenous communities in this region. In particular, Mr. Emmanuel Rozental, ACIN communications coordinator, was anonymously accused of being an international terrorist and a CIA agent. Due to these threats, Mr. Emmanuel Rozental had to leave the country immediately.

Intimidation and harassment of Mr. Elkin Ramírez Jaramillo.¹⁶⁰ On 29 November 2005, two uniformed police officers went to the home of Mr. Elkin Ramirez Jaramillo, a lawyer of the Judicial Freedom Corporation (Coporación Jurídica Libertad), in Medellín, Antioquia region, saying that they only wanted to question him regarding a public scandal case. The next day, two plain-clothes men from the Elite Anti-Terrorist Corps (Comando Elite Antiterrorista – CEAT) returned to his building asking, in particular, at what time he was generally at home. On 1 December 2005, two uniformed police officers again went to his home to make inquiries about him.

This can be added to other acts of harassment against the Judicial Freedom Corporation, which documents cases of serious human rights violations perpetrated by members of the security forces, and against other human rights organisations in Medellín.

Threats against and harassment of Mrs. Lilia Solano and her family.¹⁶¹ On 4 December 2005, two men and a woman, all armed, presenting themselves as police officers, entered the apartment of Mrs. Lilia Solano Ramirez, a lecturer at the National University of Bogotá and director of the NGO Justice and Life Project (Proyecto Justicia y Vida). They threatened her son, who was alone in the apartment. The aggressors bound him, insulted him, locked him up and covered his eyes while they searched the premises. They took Mrs. Solano's computer hard disk as well as several important documents and two mobile phones.

In 2004, Mrs. Lilia Solano, who is also a member of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado), had already been the victim of several acts of harassment and particularly serious threats. Thus, the Central Bolívar Block of the AUC Brigades had accused her on their website of being an "ideologist of narco-guerrilla" and of "soiling the minds of students". Fearing for her life, Mrs. Solano had to leave the country in December 2004. She returned to Colombia in February 2005.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

41. See Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

42. See Urgent Appeal COL 001/0205/OBS 013 and Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

43. See Urgent Appeal COL 003/0305/OBS/18.

44. See Colombia Special Appeal, March-April 2005.

45. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

46. Idem.

47. See Annual Report 2004 and Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

48. See Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

49. Idem.

50. Idem.

51. Idem.

52. Idem.

53. See Urgent Appeal COL 010/0905/OBS 082.

54. See Colombia Special Appeal, November-December 2005.

55. Idem.

56. See Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

57. See Urgent Appeal COL 002/0205/OBS 017 and Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

58. See Colombia Special Appeals, March-April and November-December 2005.

59. See Colombia Special Appeals, May-June 2005 and September-October 2005.

60. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

61. Idem.

62. See Urgent Appeal COL 009/0805/OBS 071 and Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

63. See Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

64. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

65. Idem.

66. Idem.

67. See Urgent Appeal COL 013/1005/OBS 099.

68. See Urgent Appeal COL 012/1005/0BS 097 and Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

69. See Urgent Appeals COL 011/1005/OBS 094 and 094.1.

70. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

71. Idem.

72. See Urgent Appeal COL 014/1105/0BS 114.

73. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

74. Idem.

75. Idem.

76. See Colombia Special Appeals, May-June and November-December 2005.

77. The corregidor is a special police official, appointed – and who can be dismissed at any time by the mayor of the locality in question.

78. See Annual Report 2004 and Urgent Appeal COL 013/0804/OBS 065.1.

79. See above.

80. See Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

81. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

82. Idem.

83. Idem.

84. The community of Salado is regularly subjected to persecutions and harassment from the national authorities and paramilitary groups operating in the region. In 1997, the community was the target of a massacre, which led to the displacement of over 500 families. With the help of Mr. Luis Torres and other community leaders, various agreements were reached with the national government, allowing for the return of the displaced to their community under good security conditions, but these agreements were not respected. In 2000, a paramilitary commando killed over 40 people following a "people's tribunal", after warning the population that they would henceforth be considered as being part of the guerrilla movement.

85. See Colombia Special Appeals, May-June and July-August 2005.

86. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

87. Idem.

88. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

89. Idem.

90. Idem.

91. See Colombia Special Appeal, November-December 2005.

92. Idem.

93. Idem.

94. See Urgent Appeals COL 005/0405/OBS 021 and 021.1 and Colombia Special Appeals, January-February and March-April 2005.

95. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

96. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

97. Idem.

98. See Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

99. See Colombia Special Appeals, July-August and September-October 2005.

100. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

101. See Colombia Special Appeal, November-December 2005.

102. Idem.

103. Idem.

104. See Open Letter to the Colombian authorities, 22 February 2005, and Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

105. See Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005 and Urgent Appeal COL 003/0305/ OBS 018.

106. See Urgent Appeals COL 004/0305/OBS 019, 019.1 and 019.2.

106. See Colombia Special Appeal, March-April 2005.

108. See Annual Report 2004 and above.

109. See Urgent Appeal COL 003/0305/OBS 018, and Annual Reports 2001 and 2003.

110. See above.

111. See Annual Report 2004.

112. See above.

113. See Annual Report 2004 and Colombia Special Appeal, March-April 2005.

114. See Urgent Appeal COL 006/0405/OBS 022.

115. See Colombia Special Appeals, March-April and November-December 2005.

116. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

117. Idem.

118. Idem.

119. Idem.

120. Idem.

121. Idem.

122. See above.

123. See Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

124. Idem.

125. Idem.

126. Idem.

127. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

128. Idem.

129. Idem.

130. Idem.

131. Idem.

132. Idem.

133. See Annual Report 2004 and Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

134. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

135. See Colombia Special Appeal, November-December 2005.

136. See Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

137. See Annual Report 2003 and Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

138. See Colombia Special Appeals, January-February, March-April and May-June 2005 and Urgent Appeals COL005/0405/OBS 021 and 021.1.

139. See Annual Report 2003.

140. See Colombia Special Appeal, January-February 2005.

141. See Colombia Special Appeal, March-April 2005.

142. See Colombia Special Appeals, March-April and May-June 2005.

143. See Urgent Appeal COL 007/0405/OBS 026.

144. See OMCT Press Release, 21 March 2005.

145. See OMCT Urgent Appeal COL 091205.

146. See Urgent Appeal COL 008/0505/OBS 033.

147. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

148. See above.

149. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

150. See Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

151. See Colombia Special Appeal, May-June 2005.

152. Idem.

153. See Colombia Special Appeal, July-August 2005.

154. Idem.

155. Idem.

156. See Colombia Special Appeals, July-August and November-December 2005.

157. See Colombia Special Appeal, September-October 2005.

158. Idem.

159. Idem.

160. See Urgent Appeal COL 015/1205/OBS 122.

161. See Annual Report 2004 and Urgent Appeal COL 014/0904/OBS 068.2 (issued under COL 012/0904/OBS 068.1).