Date Issued: November 29, 2007
UPDATE: Less than two weeks after this alert was issued, Jose Humberto Torres Diaz was granted protective measures by the Colombian government.
Jose Humberto Torres is a leading Colombian human rights lawyer working in one of Colombia’s most dangerous regions. Recently, an infamous paramilitary leader admitted that he had ordered his subordinates to kill Torres. The order to kill Torres has not been withdrawn and one of the people tasked with killing him remains at large.
Torres has twice been forced to live in exile out of fear for his life and is now considering fleeing the country again with his family. The recent publicity surrounding the paramilitary order to assassinate Torres puts his life in grave danger.
Take action now to demand that the Colombian Interior Ministry urgently provide Torres with adequate protection, namely an armored car and bodyguards, to allow him to continue his important work.
Background
Jose Humberto Torres is a lawyer in Barranquilla, a city in northern Colombia, who has defended the rights of others for nearly 30 years. Working with the Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee (Fundacion Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos (FCSPP)), he represents many human rights defenders who are subject to specious criminal investigations such as Principe Gabriel Gonzalez Arango.
In 2004 a Regional Military Intelligence unit (RIME) requested that the local prosecutor charge Torres with rebellion and other offences. After investigating the allegations, the prosecutor closed the case, citing a lack of facts to support the charges. Human Rights First recently visited Colombia and met with government officials to discuss the problem of prosecutors bringing false charges against human rights defenders. Read our latest document about this issue.
On November 15 2007, the ex-paramilitary commander Edgar Ignacio Fierro Florez (alias “Don Antonio”) admitted to the 3rd Justice and Peace Prosecutor in Barranquilla that in 2004 he ordered the assassination of Torres. In the order, he identified Torres as a “legitimate military target” for supposedly being involved with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Torres has no links to the FARC ‑ his human rights advocacy has been recognized by the Colombian Interior and Justice Ministry and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. Don Antonio stated that they had been unable to kill Torres because Torres traveled considerably.
Don Antonio admitted that the order to assassinate Torres remains in force. Disturbingly, one of the paramilitary members tasked with carrying it out, “El Zarco” (alias), has not demobilized. On the contrary, El Zarco reputedly remains one of the leaders of the paramilitary successor group the “Black Eagles,” which continue to threaten human rights defenders.
- More information about the paramilitary order to kill Torres (in Spanish).
Sample Letter:
Rafael Bustamante
Human Rights Director
Interior and Justice Ministry
Dear Mr. Bustamante:
I am writing to express my concern about the safety of lawyer and human rights defender Jose Humberto Torres Diaz. Mr. Torres is a renowned lawyer in Barranquilla where he handles a number of sensitive cases, including representing human rights defenders who are detained on false charges, such as Principe Gabriel Gonzalez Arango. Mr. Torres is a member of the independent human rights organization the Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee (Fundacion Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos) and represents several victims in the Justice Peace Law hearings.
On November 15 2007, the ex-paramilitary commander Edgar Ignacio Fierro Florez (alias “Don Antonio”) admitted to the 3rd Justice and Peace Prosecutor in Barranquilla that in 2004 he ordered the assassination of Torres. In that order, he identified Torres as a legitimate military target for supposedly being involved with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Torres has no links to the FARC – his human rights advocacy has been recognized by the Colombian Interior and Justice Ministry and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. Don Antonio stated that they had been unable to kill Torres because Torres traveled considerably.
I understand that the order to assassinate Torres remains in force and that disturbingly one of the paramilitary members tasked with carrying it out, “El Zarco” (alias), has not demobilized. On the contrary, El Zarco reputedly remains one of the leaders of the paramilitary successor group the “Black Eagles,” which continue to threaten human rights defenders.
I understand that it is the first time that this paramilitary assassination order has publicly come to light. The publicity of such an order puts Torres’ life in grave danger.
The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights has awarded precautionary measures in favor of Torres, obliging the Colombian state to provide him with protection. I call on you to immediately improve the security situation of Torres by providing him with a functioning armored car and bodyguards of his choosing, along with improved office and residential security. I understand that you have previously awarded Torres such protective measures but that they have failed to implemented, so that Torres is currently without any hard protective measures.
Thank you for your attention in this urgent matter. I will continue to closely monitor this situation.
cc.
Carlos Franco,
Director of Presidential Program for Human Rights