Excmo. Sr. Juan Manuel Santos
President of the Republic of Colombia
Sr. Fiscal General Eduardo Montealegre
Attorney General of Colombia
Dear Sirs:
We are very concerned about the arbitrary arrest of community leaders Jesús Arley Cartagena, Coordinator of the Human Rights Committee of the village of San José de Apartadó and recognized leader of the peasant community, and Laura Cataño Serna, member of the Peasant Association of San José de Apartadó and of the Human Rights Committee.
On December 22, 2015 Jesús Arley Cartagena and Laura Cataño Serna were arrested on charges of "rebellion," "conspiracy" and "financing terrorism.” Laura Cataño Serna has been detained in the women's ward of the penitentiary El Pedregal in Medellin since December 24. She is 55 years old, suffers from a chronic heart condition for which she has been operated on several times, and needs to take medications regularly, without which her health and her life would be put at risk. However, from the date of her capture it has not been possible to obtain authorization to provide her with the needed medications.
Jesús Arley Cartagena has been detained at the National Prison Bellavista in Medellin since December 28. Before his arrest he had scheduled a medical examination to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of tuberculosis. However, since his arrival at the detention center, even though he is in a cell in the hospital wing where there is a doctor and several nurses, so far he has not been offered any medical assistance. This neglect has worsened his symptoms, putting his own life and the lives of the other inmates at risk; if the a diagnosis of tuberculosis is confirmed, an epidemic could occur.
This is the twenty-seventh letter we have written to Colombian officials since 2002 about the human rights violations of the people of the San José Peace Community. Since the Peace Community’s establishment in March 1997, more than 200 of its members and other civilians living in the area have been killed or subjected to enforced disappearance. Colombian authorities have done little to protect the community, despite a March 15, 2005 resolution by the Inter-American Court of Human Rightscalling on them do so.
We strongly urge that you
- immediately and unconditionally release Jesús Arley Cartagena and Laura Cataño Serna, withdrawing all charges against them, since their detention is arbitrary and only meant to punish their legitimate and peaceful work in defense of human rights in Colombia.
- immediately take the most appropriate measures to ensure the safety, physical and psychological integrity of Jesús Arley Cartagena and Laura Cataño Serna and their families
- provide Jesús Arley Cartagena and Laura Cataño Serna urgent and appropriate medical treatment by an independent medical professional at the detention center.
Sincerely,
Brian Stefan Szittai and Christine Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Luis Carlos Villegas, Ambassador of Colombia to the US
Andy O’Neal, Human Rights Officer, US Embassy in Colombia
John Brandt, Desk Officer for Colombia, US State Department
José de Jesús Orozco Hernández, Rapporteur for Colombia, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
US Senators Brown & Portman and US Representatives Fudge, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Renacci, Ryan
