On August 8th 2008 Liliany Patricia Obando was detained by the Colombian authorities. She was dragged away in front of her two terrified children and her elderly mother. The Colombian regime has accused her of 'rebellion' and is currently holding her in appalling conditions in jail without having convicted her of any crime.
Liliany is an academic, a human rights campaigner and a trade union consultant. In recent years she has worked in several Western countries, mainly Canada and Australia, in an effort to raise awareness of the situation faced by the Colombian trade union movement. This work is thought to have angered the Colombian regime, which is trying to present the international community with a false picture of what is occurring in Colombia and to cover-up the abuses.
The detention of Liliany is yet another attempt to silence those you speak out against the Colombian regime. The international community needs to protest against the authoritarian and abusive policies of the Colombian regime and to campaign for the release of people such as Liliany.
Please send a message of protest about what has happened to Ms Obando to the Colombian Ambassador in London. A draft message is below. Please send a copy of any response you get to Justice for Colombia. If you do not get a reply you may wish to telephone the Colombian Embassy and ask for a response, the number is 0207 589 9177.
Please note all fields are required. This form will send the email to the Colombian Embassy plus a copy to the email address you provided. You may change the message.
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your message HE Ambassador Mauricio Rodríguez Múnera Colombian Embassy 3 Hans Crescent London SW1X 0LN Your Excellency, I write to express my outrage at the Colombian Government's continuing policy of imprisoning people for political reasons. There are numerous cases of trade unionists, students, community leaders and others being unjustly imprisoned in your country and denied access to due process. In particular, I would like to raise the case of the arrest made on 8th August 2008 of Liliany Obando, an academic, human rights campaigner and trade union consultant. She is being held in jail in appalling conditions without having been convicted of any crime. I know that Liliany has toured countries, including Australia and Canada, speaking out about the abuses being perpetrated against trade unionists in Colombia and it would appear that the legal proceedings against her have been launched in response to this work. Efforts to silence those that highlight human rights violations only provide further evidence of the Colombian regime's disregard for fundamental human rights. I demand that you address this matter urgently and that Ms Obando be given full due process, and that she is released immediately if, as is so often the case, there is no evidence against her. The international community will not stand by in silence whilst the Colombian regime continues to repress its critics with violence and intimidation and will continue to call for the freedom of Colombia's political prisoners. I look forward to your reply regarding this matter. Yours sincerely