Human Rights Defender Arrested
News from Colombia |
on: Monday, 18 July 2011
The President of the Suyana lawyer’s collective, Yira Bolanos Arturo was arrested by Colombian police on 1st June 2011. Representatives of the collective report that the arrest is part of a long-running campaign of stigmatisation, threats and persecution against her and her family.
Yira was arrested and falsely accused of ‘rebellion’ in 2003, and imprisoned for nearly two years before being absolved by a Putumayo court in 2007. She has also been victim of police searches while living in Villavicencio, while also receiving threats against herself and her family. These threats were reported to the Attorney General’s office, but no investigative action was taken. In October 2010, while she was representing some displaced persons being forcibly moved during a police operation, she was also directly threatened by a police inspector called Juan Carlos Valencia Soto.
The Suyana lawyer’s collective claims that her arrest is the latest move in a long-running campaign, and that it is part of a systematic practice of criminalising human rights defenders and social protest in Colombia.
