A death threat has been delivered to Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello, President of the non-governmental human rights organization Corporación Colectivo de Abogados ‘José Alvear Restrepo’, José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective. Amnesty International believes that she, her family and other members of the organization are in grave danger.

On 13 May, when Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello arrived at the housing complex where she lives, in the capital, Bogotá, the security guard gave her a suspicious package that had been delivered by a courier company. Fearing that it could be a letter-bomb, Soraya called the police, who opened the package.

Inside the box there was a decapitated doll cut into pieces. Parts of the doll’s body had been burnt and red nail varnish had been painted on its body to look like blood. A cross had been drawn on the doll. There was also a handwritten death threat: "Usted tiene una familia muy linda cuídela no la sacrifique" (You have a nice family look after it and do not sacrifice it).

The same day, an advertisement appeared in the national newspaper El Tiempo,
purporting to be from the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective. It called for lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, other professionals and students seeking jobs to contact the organization for immediate employment, and contained the organization's telephone numbers.

According to the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective, the advertisement contains an implicit threat, as it suggests that there will be soon be vacancies in the organization.

On 14 May a similar advertisement had been placed in the same newspaper, this time looking for security guards for the organization, giving a meeting time and place for prospective candidates. The organization was not involved in placing either advertisement, and believes the appeal for security guards could be intended to indicate that the organization is under serious threat. This concern was heightened by the fact that the place and time given in the advert were those of a meeting between the organization and victims of human rights
violations. This makes clear that the organization is under close surveillance.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

On 14th February 2003, Mrs. Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello , a lawyer with the «José Alvear Restrepo» Lawyers' Collective (CAJAR, Colectivo de Abogados «José Alvear Restrepo»), was intercepted by a vehicle from which several men armed with submachine guns emerged. Mrs. Gutiérrez managed to shake off her attackers but several shots  were fired at the windscreen of her vehicle. In the days preceding the  attack, Mrs. Gutiérrez Arguello had received anonymous phone calls to her home, consisting either of silence or macabre laughter. Mrs. Gutiérrez Arguello reported the incident to the national police and her vehicle was taken to the security authorities for ballistics tests.

On 20th February 2003, Mrs. Gutiérrez's housekeeper received three  phone calls from a man asking where Mrs. Gutiérrez could be found.

On 3rd March 2003, a man phoned Gutiérrez's home and asked the  housekeeper what time Mrs. Gutiérrez's daughter got home from  school. A few minutes later, when the housekeeper left to get the girl from school, she realized she was being followed by a taxi. Having pulled up alongside, the taxi driver asked her if she was going to get  Soraya's daughter. He then parked the taxi and got out. When the girl  arrived, the taxi drove off.

On the same day, the porter of the apartment building where Mrs. Gutiérrez lives told her that a man who said he worked for Cablecentro had asked which apartment number she lived in. A check revealed that Cablecentro had not sent anyone to the address in question, and that all its technicians wear a uniform. This extremely worrying development was reported to the Judge of the Nation (Fiscaliá  General de la Nación), who is responsible for investigating the harassment and threats to which CAJAR members are subjected. By  December 2003, Mrs. Gutiérrez had still not been summoned to give  testimony.

It would appear that the legal action carried out by Mrs. Gutiérrez  on behalf of the communities of Bocayá department has inconvenienced the military hierarchy in the region, which would explain the threats she received.

Over the years the Corporación Colectivo de Abogados ‘José Alvear Restrepo’ has sought to bring to justice members of the security forces, including senior officers, implicated in serious human rights violations committed directly by the security forces or in coordination with their paramilitary allies. Among the high-profile cases on which the Corporación has worked is the Chengue  paramilitary massacre of 2001, in which 26 peasant farmers were killed.

Many human rights lawyers have been killed in Colombia, and others have been forced to flee the country in fear for their lives. Human rights defenders who have condemned human rights violations by the armed forces or their paramilitary allies, and have sought to bring those responsible to justice, or to expose the links between the security forces and paramilitary groups, have frequently been harassed or killed.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language:

• expressing concern for the safety of Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello, President of the Corporación Colectivo de Abogados 'José Alvear Restrepo', who received a death threat on 13 May, her family and other members of the organization
• calling for full and impartial investigations into this death threat and the other threats against the organization, for the results to be made public and those responsible brought to justice;
• urging the authorities to take effective action to protect Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello, her family and other members of the organization, as they have requested, thus allowing them to continue their legitimate and important work in defence of human rights in safety;
• urging the government to fully implement the principles of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
• calling on the government to investigate all threats against human rights defenders and bring those responsible to justice, and to initiate a meaningful dialogue with human rights defenders to determine how to protect them from attack.

APPEALS TO:

Attorney General

Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio

Fiscal General de la Nación, Fiscalía General de la Nación,

Diagonal 22B 52-01 (Ciudad Salite), Bogotá, Colombia

Fax: + 57 1 570 2000 (you will hear a message in Spanish asking you to enter extension 2017)

Salutation: Dear Dr. Osorio / Estimado Dr. Osorio

COPIES TO:

'José Alvear Restrepo' Lawyers' Collective

Corporación Colectivo de Abogados 'José Alvear Restrepo',

AA 33035

Bogotá, Colombia

and to diplomatic representatives of Colombia accredited to your country.

PUBLIC AI Index: AMR
23/014/2005
16 May 2005
UA 125/05 Fear for safety/ Death Threat