colombia

Front Line is concerned following reports of death threats against human rights lawyers, Ms Blanca Irene López and Ms Claudia Erazo, received on 26 March 2009. Blanca Irene López and Claudia Erazo work for the Corporación Jurídica Yira Castro – CJYC (Yira Castro Judicial Corporation), an organisation which defends the rights of displaced people and peasant communities. 

Front Line is seriously concerned following reports that human rights lawyer, Ms Lina Paolo Malagón Díaz, received a threatening fax on 2 March 2009. In the fax, Lina Paolo Malagón Díaz was listed as a military target and accused of having ties with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. Lina Paolo Malagón Díaz is a member of the Comisión Colombiana de Juristas – CCJ (Colombian Commission of Jurists). 

Jackeline Rojas is a prominent human rights defender in Colombia. She is the oordinator and legal representative for the Organisation Femenina Popular in Magdalena Medio, Colombia. Jackeline Rojas and the OFP work to empower women and those who say no to war and violence. Human rights defenders are the objects of constant surveillance and attacks in Colombia. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of renewed threats against the Espacio de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de Derechos Humanos – ETTDH (Space of Human Rights Workers), a platform of human rights organisations based in the city of Barrancabermeja and the region of Magdalena Medio, which includes the Organización Feminina Popular – OFP (Women's Popular Organisation), the Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CREDHOS (Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights), the Programas de Desarrollo y Paz – PDP (Programmes for Peace and Development), the Unión Sindical Obrera – USO (Workers' Labour Union), the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Empresas Operadoras, Contratistas, Subcontratistas de Servicios y Actividades de la Industria del Petróleo, Petroquímica y Similares – SINDISPETROL (National Trade Union of Workers of Petroleum, Petrochemical and Related Contractors, Services Subcontractors and Activities), and the trade union of the company Colombian Fertilisers – FERTICOL. Front Line previously expressed its concern regarding threats made against these organisations in an urgent action of 25 June 2008.