Equipo Nizkor - Representatives of the European Parliament send letter supporting proceedings in the Claudia Julieta Duque case.

Doctor Juan Manuel Santos Calderón
President
Republic of Colombia

Doctor Luis Eduardo Montealegre Lynett
Attorney General of the Nation
Republic of Colombia

Honourable Magistrates
Supreme Court of Justice
Republic of Colombia

Subject: Follow-up to the case of journalist and human rights defender Claudia Julieta Duque, victim of psychological torture perpetrated by State agents.

Brussels, 23rd of February 2016

Dear Sirs/Madams,

We send our warmest greetings,

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for the important advances in the Peace Process underway between the Government of Colombia and the FARC in Havana. As was ratified in the recent European Parliament resolution on the "Peace process in Colombia", we reaffirm our commitment to contribute to the construction of a sustainable and lasting peace.

In this spirit we are writing in order to express our concern for the situation of human rights defenders, whose efforts are essential for the construction of peace and the strengthening of democracy in Colombia. We consider the investigation and punishment of those responsible in emblematic cases of aggression against these people and their work to be important. These aggressions have taken the form of intelligence operations, monitoring, harassment, threats and the aggression and persecution carried out by the former-DAS against members of Colombian social movements, journalists, human rights defenders and members of the political opposition, among others.

On this matter we would like to express our concern for the security and the physical and emotional wellbeing of the distinguished investigative journalist and human rights defender, Claudia Julieta Duque, and the security of her family and her legal representative, Víctor Javier Velásquez Gil.

Ms Duque, in the context of her work in defence of human rights has been investigating and denouncing various cases of the violation of human rights and crimes against humanity. Her reports on the alleged participation of agents of the DAS in assassination of the humorist Jaime Garzón in 1999 were followed by an era of the most serious attacks against her, including kidnap, threats, instances of aggression and defamation - which led to her exile for a period with her daughter, who has also been the victim of numerous threats and aggressions.

For all of this, Claudia Julieta has been recognised since 2011 by the Colombia judiciary as a victim of psychological torture perpetrated by different agents and directors of the DAS. In 2014 the ex-Director General of Intelligence, Carlos Alberto Arzayus, accepted charges of torture against Claudia Julieta and was condemned to six years in prison along with two other senior employees of the DAS. It is important to point out that this is the first case in the world in which agents of the State have been recognised and charged with the crime of psychological torture as a crime committed independently, that is to say, independent of other crimes such as arbitrary detention, extra-judicial executions or massacres.

In turn, in 2012, Ms Duque denounced the ex-president of Colombia and current senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez for injury and defamation. Furthermore in 2014 the Colombian General Attorney Office ordered the Commission of Investigations of the House of Representatives to investigate the responsibility of Álvaro Uribe in the case of psychological torture previously mentioned. A similar order was issued in the case of the ex-Director General of the DAS, Jorge Noguera, who since 2013 and in spite of the volume of evidence still remains in the preliminary stages of investigation.

Finally, other ex-members of the former-DAS have been called to judgement in relation to the case of the torture of Claudia such as the ex-Subdirector José Miguel Narváez Martínez, the ex-Directors of Intelligence Gian Carlo Auque de Silvestri and Enrique Alberto Ariza (both are currently fugitives) and in a later judgement of the ex-Director of Counter-intelligence Rodolfo Medina Alemán (also a fugitive) and Ronal Rivera the ex-detective and active employee of the Colombian Ministry of Migration. The preparatory hearings for the charges of torture against José Miguel Narváez started in July of 2015 and the next hearings are scheduled for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of March.

We find the pace of the process concerning, as the same journalist, Ms Duque and her lawyer have asked for the investigation of another 19 employees of the former-DAS, and the monitoring, illegal intelligence and aggressions against the human rights defender, her daughter, her lawyer and her family, incidents which have been made known to the National Protection Programme (Unidad Nacional de Protección) and the General Attorney Office by Claudia Julieta Duque.

For all of the above and in full respect for the independence of the Colombian judiciary, the representatives of the European Parliament signed below respectfully request that:

these cases be expedited with urgency and that full guarantees be brought to the victim and witnesses (among them Claudia Julieta Duque) so that the hearings do not become a means of re-victimisation;
A real impetus be given to the investigations against the current senator Álvaro Uribe and the ex-Director of the DAS Jorge Noguera for the crime of torture.
The legal status of Senator Uribe Vélez be resolved for the crimes of injury and defamation in the investigation underway by the Supreme Court of Justice.
All means of protection necessary be arranged and provided for the journalist and defender of human rights Claudia Julieta Duque and her family.
All acts of intimidation, illegal monitoring and other aggressions reported by Claudia Julieta Duque and her family be investigated and that the intellectual and material authors be prosecuted.
The responsibility assumed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería de Colombia) that prior to the 15th of September of 2015 the Colombian Government would issue a public statement in support of the fight for justice by the journalist Claudia Julieta Duque. As of yet this has not happened.
Those accused who have been found to be fugitives from justice are captured and that the procedures necessary for the extradition, deportation or international capture of those who have fled the country be carried out.

We believe that cases such as this require the greatest possible attention in any State, as do the guarantees for those who investigate them. For our part we shall continue observing this case and the security situation of those whose actions are directed toward strengthening the State of Law and bringing about better access to justice for victims.

Yours respectfully,

Marina Albiol Gúzman, GUE/NGL, Vice-chair of the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EUROLAT)
Martina Anderson, GUE/NGL
Lynn Boylan, GUE/NGL
Matt Carthy, GUE/NGL,
Kostas Chrysogonos, GUE/NGL
Ignazio Corrao , EFD
Javier Couso Permuy, GUE/NGL, Vice-chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
Fabio De Masi, GUE/NGL
João Ferreira GUE/NGL, Vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (DACP)
Ana Maria Gomes, S&D
Tania González Peñas, GUE/NGL Vice-chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community (DAND)
Takis Hadjigeorgiou, GUE/NGL
Stelios Kouloglou, GUE/NGL, Vice-chair of the Committee on Development (DEVE)
Patrick Le Hyaric, GUE/NGL, Vice-chair of the Group GUE/NGL
Paloma López Bermejo, GUE/NGL
Curzio Maltese GUE/NGL
Liadh Ní Riada, GUE/NGL
João Pimenta Lopes, GUE/NGL, Vice-chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)
Barbara Spinelli, GUE/NGL
Neoklis Sylikiotis, GUE/NGL
Josep Maria Terricabras, Verdes/ ALE, Vice-chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
Estefanía Torres, GUE/NGL
Miguel Urbán Crespo, GUE/NGL
Marie-Christine Vergiat, GUE/NGL
Miguel Viegas, GUE/NGL

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23Feb16

Representatives of the European Parliament send letter supporting proceedings in the Claudia Julieta Duque case