Front Line is deeply concerned following information received of a plan to assassinate human rights defender David Ravelo Crespo. David Ravelo Crespo is Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos - Credhos (Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in Colombia.

Further Information

posted 26/02/2008 On 11 February 2008, David Ravelo Crespo was informed that a paramilitary commander, known as “Gomelo”, had given orders for him to be killed. Members of Credhos have reported seeing unidentified persons observing their offices, which are located on Avenida 52 No.25-49, Barrio Galán Gómezonas.

In 2006, Credhos received telephone calls informing them of a paramilitary group's plan to kill David Ravelo Crespo. In 2007, Credhos members were the subjects of death threats signed by the Las Águilas Negras (Black Eagles), a well-known paramilitary group. At the beginning of 2008, David Ravelo Crespo received a telephone call informing him that paramilitaries in the area of Barrancabermeja were planning his assassination.

Since 2005, Credhos has requested protection and technical support from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in particular in order to improve its security facilities, which are currently inadequate to protect its members considering the level of threat they experience.

Front Line believes that the death threats against David Ravelo Crespo and other members of Credhos, are related to Credhos' work in the defence of human rights in Colombia. The Colombian Government's Programa de Protección, which is organised under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior, provides protection for human rights defenders and Front Line believes that in the context of the latest threats, Credhos ought to be a beneficiary of this protection programme.