Colombia
12.04.01
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: forced disappearance of Mr. Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango
Case COL 120401
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by several reliable sources, among them the Committee of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners Foundation (FCSPP), about the forced disappearance of the young man Mr. Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango, in the city of Bucaramanga, Department of Santander.
According to the information received from the International Centre for the Protection and Investigation of Human Rights in Colombia (Centro Internacional para la Protección e Investigación de Derechos Humanos en Colombia), Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango disappeared on March 28 2001, at approximately 4:00 p.m. in Bucaramanga. That day the victim had left a hotel and headed towards Bucaramanga bus station, but reportedly never arrived there, nor did he communicate with his family or acquaintances, or return to the hotel. The reports add that he intended to travel to Medellín to visit his one year old son who was ill. Nothing is so far known about the whereabouts of Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango, or about the identity of the perpetrators of his disappearance.
Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango lived in the city of Medellín until late 1999, when he left for Cúcuta, capital of the Department of Norte de Santander, forced to leave by numerous threats and extortion. The reports add that the written and telephone threats came from a private urban armed group which urged the victim to pay sums of money to guarantee security in his work.
The reports add the worrying fact that Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango is brother of Mr. Nelson Restrepo Arango, who is known for his work since 1984 in the defence, protection, investigation and promotion of human rights, and there are serious reasons to fear that his disappearance is related with his brother’s activities as a defender of human rights.
Mr. Nelson Restrepo Arango, defender of Human Rights, has been the object of several attacks during his professional career; on April 4 1989, he suffered a heavy armed attack from which he escaped unharmed.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT condemns once more this kind of persecution against the civilian population and shares the serious concern of human rights organizations for the physical and psychological integrity of young John Fredy Restrepo Arango.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Colombian Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons, to locate those who are missing and to bring an end to such violent events;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events, especially the reports of torture, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or administrative sanctions stipulated by law;
iii. fully execute the recommendations made by international and regional human rights organisations, including those of the High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Inter.American Human Rights Commission as well as national and governmental human rights organisations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses
· S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n .7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n . 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35; e-mail: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
· Mission Permanente de la Colombie auprès de l’Office de las Nations Unies et des institutions spécialisées a Genève. Chemin du Champ d’Anier 17-19, 1209 Genève. Tel : (+41) 22 798 4554, 798 4555. E-mail: mission.colombia@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, 12 April, 2001
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by several reliable sources, among them the Committee of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners Foundation (FCSPP), about the forced disappearance of the young man Mr. Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango, in the city of Bucaramanga, Department of Santander.
According to the information received from the International Centre for the Protection and Investigation of Human Rights in Colombia (Centro Internacional para la Protección e Investigación de Derechos Humanos en Colombia), Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango disappeared on March 28 2001, at approximately 4:00 p.m. in Bucaramanga. That day the victim had left a hotel and headed towards Bucaramanga bus station, but reportedly never arrived there, nor did he communicate with his family or acquaintances, or return to the hotel. The reports add that he intended to travel to Medellín to visit his one year old son who was ill. Nothing is so far known about the whereabouts of Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango, or about the identity of the perpetrators of his disappearance.
Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango lived in the city of Medellín until late 1999, when he left for Cúcuta, capital of the Department of Norte de Santander, forced to leave by numerous threats and extortion. The reports add that the written and telephone threats came from a private urban armed group which urged the victim to pay sums of money to guarantee security in his work.
The reports add the worrying fact that Jhon Fredy Restrepo Arango is brother of Mr. Nelson Restrepo Arango, who is known for his work since 1984 in the defence, protection, investigation and promotion of human rights, and there are serious reasons to fear that his disappearance is related with his brother’s activities as a defender of human rights.
Mr. Nelson Restrepo Arango, defender of Human Rights, has been the object of several attacks during his professional career; on April 4 1989, he suffered a heavy armed attack from which he escaped unharmed.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT condemns once more this kind of persecution against the civilian population and shares the serious concern of human rights organizations for the physical and psychological integrity of young John Fredy Restrepo Arango.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Colombian Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons, to locate those who are missing and to bring an end to such violent events;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events, especially the reports of torture, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or administrative sanctions stipulated by law;
iii. fully execute the recommendations made by international and regional human rights organisations, including those of the High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Inter.American Human Rights Commission as well as national and governmental human rights organisations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses
· S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n .7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n . 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35; e-mail: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
· Mission Permanente de la Colombie auprès de l’Office de las Nations Unies et des institutions spécialisées a Genève. Chemin du Champ d’Anier 17-19, 1209 Genève. Tel : (+41) 22 798 4554, 798 4555. E-mail: mission.colombia@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, 12 April, 2001