Colombia
11.07.02
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: forced disappearances and a kidnapping
Case COL 110702
Forced disappearances / Kidnapping
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following case in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed of two forced disappearances that took place on the road between Barranquilla (Atlántico) and Carmen de Bolívar (Bolívar), and in Popayán (Departament of Cauca), as well as of the kidnapping of a medical doctor called José Amiro Gnecco Martínez, in Bogotá.
According to the information received from the Colombian Association of the Families of the Detainees and the Disappeared (ASFADDES), the following cases of disappearances have been recorded:
- 20 year old Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños disappeared on February 26th 2002, after having seen his mother Mrs. Mabel Rocío Bolaños, at 5 p.m., at which time he had asked her for some money that he was going to use to attend a cookery course that was set to start later on the same day, at the Caja de Compensación Familiar of Cauca (CONFACAUCA), in Popayán. At around 5.30 p.m., Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños left his mother, since which time nobody has been able to locate his whereabouts.
The reports add that Mr. Zúñiga Bolaños never reached the offices of CONFACAUCA, thus, it has been concluded that his disappearance occurred on the way between the neighbourhood known as La Esmeralda and the offices of CONFACAUCA. His family reported the disappearance to the Technical body of the prosecutor’s office (CTI), in Popayán. It is believed that the perpetrators of this act are members of an outlaw insurgent group, although there have been no further reports confirming this claim.
- 42 year-old driver Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey disappeared on July 4th 2002. According to the information received, that day he picked up two passengers in the municipality of Calamar, who told him that someone was looking for him. Approximately one kilometre from a farmhouse known as La Ponderosa (on the road that leads to Carmen de Bolívar from Barranquilla), Mr. Martínez Carey was intercepted by four armed men, who ordered him to stop the vehicle and ordered the passengers to leave the bus. The men then set the bus on fire and forcibly took Mr. Martínez Carey away with them. Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey lives in Carmen de Bolívar, and had been working as a driver on the same route passing through Calamar to Barranquilla for seven years.
- According to the Committee of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (FCSPP), 27 year old optician Dr. José Amiro Gnecco Martínez was kidnapped on July 9th 2002, at around seven in the morning, in front of the University Hospital La Samaritana, in Bogotá. He was reportedly taken by four non-identified armed persons, who forced him to get in a pickup truck. According to the reports, Dr. Gnecco Martínez is the son of the ex-governor of the department of Cesar, Mr. Lucas Gnecco Cerchario, and is a member of the National Association of Workers and Employees of Hospitals, Clinics, Surgeries (ANTHOC) and other entities that work in the area of health.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT recalls that forced disappearance is considered as a grave human rights violation and expresses its condemnation of such acts of violence, as well as the persecution of the civilian population, the apparent impunity of the authors of such acts and of the lack of effective protective measures provided by the regional and national authorities. OMCT expresses its grave concern for the security and physical and psychological integrity of Dr. José Amiro Gnecco Martínez, Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños and Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey.
Requested action
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. take immediately the necessary measures to locate the whereabouts of Dr. José Amiro Gnecco Martínez, Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños and of Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey, and guarantee their security and physical and psychological integrity;
ii. carry out an immediate and thorough investigation into the events mentioned above, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, and apply the civil and/or administrative sanctions as stated by the law;
iii. immediately implement the recommendations given by the regional and international human rights organisations, including those given by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights;
iv. guarantee the respect for human rights and the fundamental liberties throughout the country, in conformity with the national law and the international norms on human rights.
Addresses
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23;(+57 1) 281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· 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
Please also write to the Colombian diplomatic representations in your respective countries
Geneva, July 11th 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken in this case, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Forced disappearances / Kidnapping
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following case in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed of two forced disappearances that took place on the road between Barranquilla (Atlántico) and Carmen de Bolívar (Bolívar), and in Popayán (Departament of Cauca), as well as of the kidnapping of a medical doctor called José Amiro Gnecco Martínez, in Bogotá.
According to the information received from the Colombian Association of the Families of the Detainees and the Disappeared (ASFADDES), the following cases of disappearances have been recorded:
- 20 year old Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños disappeared on February 26th 2002, after having seen his mother Mrs. Mabel Rocío Bolaños, at 5 p.m., at which time he had asked her for some money that he was going to use to attend a cookery course that was set to start later on the same day, at the Caja de Compensación Familiar of Cauca (CONFACAUCA), in Popayán. At around 5.30 p.m., Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños left his mother, since which time nobody has been able to locate his whereabouts.
The reports add that Mr. Zúñiga Bolaños never reached the offices of CONFACAUCA, thus, it has been concluded that his disappearance occurred on the way between the neighbourhood known as La Esmeralda and the offices of CONFACAUCA. His family reported the disappearance to the Technical body of the prosecutor’s office (CTI), in Popayán. It is believed that the perpetrators of this act are members of an outlaw insurgent group, although there have been no further reports confirming this claim.
- 42 year-old driver Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey disappeared on July 4th 2002. According to the information received, that day he picked up two passengers in the municipality of Calamar, who told him that someone was looking for him. Approximately one kilometre from a farmhouse known as La Ponderosa (on the road that leads to Carmen de Bolívar from Barranquilla), Mr. Martínez Carey was intercepted by four armed men, who ordered him to stop the vehicle and ordered the passengers to leave the bus. The men then set the bus on fire and forcibly took Mr. Martínez Carey away with them. Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey lives in Carmen de Bolívar, and had been working as a driver on the same route passing through Calamar to Barranquilla for seven years.
- According to the Committee of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (FCSPP), 27 year old optician Dr. José Amiro Gnecco Martínez was kidnapped on July 9th 2002, at around seven in the morning, in front of the University Hospital La Samaritana, in Bogotá. He was reportedly taken by four non-identified armed persons, who forced him to get in a pickup truck. According to the reports, Dr. Gnecco Martínez is the son of the ex-governor of the department of Cesar, Mr. Lucas Gnecco Cerchario, and is a member of the National Association of Workers and Employees of Hospitals, Clinics, Surgeries (ANTHOC) and other entities that work in the area of health.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT recalls that forced disappearance is considered as a grave human rights violation and expresses its condemnation of such acts of violence, as well as the persecution of the civilian population, the apparent impunity of the authors of such acts and of the lack of effective protective measures provided by the regional and national authorities. OMCT expresses its grave concern for the security and physical and psychological integrity of Dr. José Amiro Gnecco Martínez, Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños and Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey.
Requested action
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. take immediately the necessary measures to locate the whereabouts of Dr. José Amiro Gnecco Martínez, Mr. Hugo Armando Zúñiga Bolaños and of Mr. Luis Enrique Martínez Carey, and guarantee their security and physical and psychological integrity;
ii. carry out an immediate and thorough investigation into the events mentioned above, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, and apply the civil and/or administrative sanctions as stated by the law;
iii. immediately implement the recommendations given by the regional and international human rights organisations, including those given by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights;
iv. guarantee the respect for human rights and the fundamental liberties throughout the country, in conformity with the national law and the international norms on human rights.
Addresses
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23;(+57 1) 281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· 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
Please also write to the Colombian diplomatic representations in your respective countries
Geneva, July 11th 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken in this case, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.