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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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12Apr13
Campaign of intimidation against human rights defender Ms Claudia Julieta Duque
On 12 April 2013, the daughter of human rights defender Ms Claudia Julieta Duque was photographed by an unknown man in the vicinity of her father's home. The man took a photograph of her up close and she managed to get a photograph of him from the back as he rapidly retreated. Previously on 10 April 2013, she was photographed whilst she was with her boyfriend, again in the vicinity of her father's house.
These incidents are the latest in a campaign of intimidation and harassment directed against the human rights defender since 12 March 2013 when her case against seven officials of the now disbanded Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad - DAS (Administrative Security Department), regarding psychological torture against her, was made public. Claudia Julieta Duque is a journalist who works as a correspondent with the Equipo Nizkor and Radio Nizkor in Colombia. Front Line Defenders issued an update on 22 March 2013 regarding the arrest of the seven officials accused of her psychological torture over a period of years.
Since 12 March 2013, Claudia Julieta Duque has been subject to a campaign of intimidation and harassment. On the morning of 13 March 2013, her brother received a call on one of the phones provided to the human rights defender as part of her security detail, from a man who identified himself as Elkin Perdomo from the Unidad Nacional de Protección - UNP (National Protection Unit). The man asked for her telephone number and address, and said that it was related to the elaboration of a new security study. However, this study is due to be carried out in June and Claudia Julieta Duque is in direct contact with the people who are running the study.
The same day, at approximately 12:30pm, the human rights defender was in the hairdressers when she realised she was being watched by an unknown man in a taxi. She was observed for forty minutes before the police arrived, at which point the man left.
On 15 and 16 March 2013, Claudia Julieta Duque received two files to her computer from the same email address (porladignidadmilitar@...). Both were executable files, which led the human rights defender to believe that they were viruses, and to delete them. The human rights defender mentioned this a number of times on the phone on 17 March 2013, as she is aware her phone is tapped, and received no more files of this type. That night, Claudia Julieta Duque's daughter noticed a taxi, hidden from view of their apartment's security camera, from which the driver was observing their home for more than one hour. Some days later, on 21 March 2013, at approximately 11am, a Police Superintendent claiming to be from the Human Rights Directorate arrived at the human rights defender's home. He claimed to know that she had been granted security measures by the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights since 2008, when in fact it is since November 2009, and wished to enquire whether the police were offering her sufficient protection. Claudia Julieta Duque found it strange to be asked about this in such a casual manner and so she did not let the man enter but rather spoke to him via the intercom. She asked for a telephone number at which she could contact him but he did not comply with this request.
Front Line Defenders believes this campaign of harassment to be directly related to Claudia Julieta Duque's legitimate work in defence of human rights in Colombia, and in particular to her case against the DAS. These latest incidents of observation of her daughter constitute an escalation of this campaign, and takes place in the context of ongoing intimidation of human rights defenders in Colombia. Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Claudia Julieta Duque and her family.
[Source: Front Line Defenders, Dublin, 12Apr13]
 | This document has been published on 08Jul13 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |