Front Line is seriously concerned following reports of the attempted kidnapping of human rights defender, Mr Mauricio Meza Blanco, on 22 April 2009 in Bucaramanga, Santander. Mauricio Meza Blanco is the president of the board of directors of the organisation Corporación Compromiso (Corporation Commitment) and coordinator of its Participation and Development Programme. Corporación Compromiso works to promote and protect human rights in the north-east of Colombia.

On 22 April 2009, at approximately 7pm, unidentified men attempted to abduct Mauricio Meza Blanco outside his house in the neighbourhood of Sotomayor in the city of Bucaramanga, Santander. He was just closing the door of his house to go and attend to some business when a grey Toyota Hilux van, with tinted windows, pulled up and two men got out. The driver remained in the van with the motor running while the other two men accosted Mauricio Meza Blanco in an attempt to overpower him and force him into the van in order to kidnap him or make him “disappear”. Mauricio resisted and prevented their abducting him, receiving multiple injuries during the few minutes in which the struggle lasted until neighbours approached and appealed to the men not to rob him. At that moment two agents of the national police force arrived by motorbike and immediately the attackers fled the scene in their van. During the struggle the two attackers revealed their intention of kidnapping him and the motive as being the work that he was carrying out at the time. They said “Esta vez si nos lo llevamos” (this time we will take him) while they were hitting him .

Mauricio Meza Blanco recently did an interview on the programme “Opiniones” (Opinions) on the television channel Televisión Ciudadana in which he expressed his concerns in relation to the implementation of agro-industrial and energy mega-projects in the Department of Santander that he believes are having serious environmental consequences as well as affecting the rights of the local people.

This is not the first time that Mauricio Meza Blanco has been targeted. In 2007 he also received three threats against him.

Front Line is extremely concerned for the security of the above mentioned human rights defender and other staff members of Corporación Compromiso, and fears that the attempted kidnapping was intended to sanction his legitimate work in defence of human rights, and may form part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Colombia.