Lawyers without frontiers: Colombian fears

Extraordinary revelations during the trial of the head of the Colombian secret intelligence force on 14 June 2009 have substantiated reports of the systematic harassment of human rights lawyers in Colombia. Four Colombian human rights lawyers well known to UK lawyers are among a large group of Colombian citizens who have been the subject of a secret operation by the G-3 Group inside the DAS '“ the Colombian intelligence service.

In October 2005, Zoraya Gutierrez addressed a human rights seminar at the opening of the Legal Year in London. She told of how she had received a terrifying threat to the life of her seven-year-old daughter. She received a doll covered in red paint in May 2005 together with a note: 'You have a beautiful daughter, do not sacrifice her.'

Ms Gutierrez is a member of the human rights lawyers' chambers CCAJAR (Jose Alvear Restrepo group). A dossier before the court in the trial of former DAS head General Jorge Noruega gives details of the information gathered about Ms Gutierrez and her family.

Among the body of evidence at the Noruega trial are 103 dossiers on Colombian citizens and foreign visitors who have been subject of secret investigations by the G-3 Group. Other lawyers in the CCAJAR group have also been subject of phone-tapping, intelligence gathering about their families, their homes, their lovers, their friends and associates.

Growing support

UK lawyers, MPs and members of the House of Lords have heard evidence of the harassment of human rights lawyers over a period of at least five years. The Law Society hosted a seminar in 2004, where an international audience heard Liliana Uribe speak of the threats received which interfere with the daily work of human rights defenders. Ms Uribe is a lawyer who can only work with the support of Peace Brigades International volunteers, who ensure the safety of human rights defenders at risk by arranging for their safe passage with the appropriate authorities and by accompanying them to court and about their daily work.

Support for Colombian human rights lawyers has grown through the Law Society and the Bar Human Rights Committee. The City of Westminster & Holborn Law Society has supported human rights lawyers for the last four years, and has hosted visits from others named in the dossiers. Dora Lucy Arias and Reynaldo Villaba, both speakers in London seminars in recent years, are named in the dossiers, as are their young children, who are under ten years of age, with photos of the children and their cousins.

The dossiers were handed to the prosecution by the current DAS administration when evidence against the former DAS head Noguera was uncovered. The Noguera proceedings are into their third year, and numerous attempts have been made by Noguera and his defence team to have the case against him dismissed. However, the trial comes at a time when the Colombian government is telling the world that the battle against impunity is now a priority. With the sensational revelations found in the G-3 dossiers, it is less likely that this trial will fail.

In May 2009 the 'Report of the International Lawyers Delegation' (the Caravana de Juristas) was launched in London. This report made public the findings of the 70-strong delegation which visited Colombia in August 2009 to investigate the situation of human rights lawyers. Forty-two UK lawyers were part of the international delegation, with representatives of the Law Society, the Bar and ILEX. At the launch of the delegation's report in Westminster on 7 May, the current president of CCAJAR, Alirio Uribe Munoz, addressed a meeting hosted by Lord Avebury, of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Rights.

There has been increasing support from UK parliamentarians including an early day motion on Colombia signed recently by 240 MPs. The UK government is emphasising the need to press ahead in the battle against impunity. David Miliband informed the House in March of changes in the way the UK government delivers its objectives in Colombia. The government believes that Colombia's progress over recent years is being undermined by 'continuing problems of abuse of human rights, poverty and inequality, impunity and the drugs trade'.

Impunity is a problem which particularly affects the victims of paramilitary and extra-judicial killings, and it affects the lawyers representing the victims.

More lawyers targeted

Alirio Uribe Munoz, himself subject of surveillance and threats since 2002, was also named in the DAS trial dossiers. He appears in various files with photographs, bank statements, valuations for his home, reports on places he frequented, details of his family, names of his children, friends, contacts overseas, and details of overseas visits.

In his recent visit to Europe last month, Mr Uribe gave evidence in London and Brussels, and participated in an international human rights conference in London in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He spoke of the harassment that human rights defenders suffer, and this month the evidence has come to light in the DAS trail.

The dossiers reveal that in April 2005 a memorandum gave instructions for the investigation of Mr Uribe and also Gustavo Gallon, president of the Andean Commission of Jurists. Agents were to verify the lawyers' residence, to assess any security arrangements and to identify if there was an apartment close by suitable for intelligence work.

Gustavo Gallon commented: 'I never imagined that they would put 30 to 40 persons on to investigate us. It appears more like preparations for an attack.' On 14 June Mr Uribe commented in Bogota: 'We have already denounced this to the United Nations. We are considering taking this case to other international organisations, including the International Criminal Court.'

Meanwhile, Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur, released a statement on 19 June following a monitoring visit:

'Colombian civil society is vibrant and diverse. It makes invaluable contributions to public discourse and to raising awareness of human rights. But human rights defenders (HRDs) are frequently intimidated and threatened, and sometimes killed, often by private actors. They have been accused by high level officials of being '“ or being close to '“ guerrillas or terrorists. Such statements have also been made against prosecutors and judges. These statements stigmatise those working to promote human rights, and encourage an environment in which specific acts of threats and killings by private actors can take place. It is important for senior officials to cease the stigmatization of such groups.'

UK lawyers are playing their part in support for the constant struggle human rights lawyers in Colombia face in going about their business. Despite being signatory to all UN treaties and protocols in relation to respect for human rights, the Colombian government is unable to demonstrate that sufficient capacity exists to protect and preserve human rights and their defenders. The existence of a sinister organisation such as the G-3 Group within the intelligence services with its clear brief to harass human rights defenders is an indictment of the sorry state of government protection for human rights in Colombia.