Demand the Immediate Freedom of Liliany Obando Following the Third Anniversary of Her Arrest

International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners Calls for Solidarity to Demand the Immediate Freedom of Liliany Obando Following the Third Anniversary of Her Arrest

(See Important Action Component Following the INSPP Statement)
LILIANY OBANDO VILLOTA: A POLITICAL CASE
Three years after her arrest on the eighth of August, Liliany Obando Villota, academic, unionist, documentary filmmaker, activist and human rights defender, continues to be unjustly detained. As of this date, her legal situation continues to be undefined.
The two charges against her, that she is a member of the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army) and that she diverted economic funds to said organization, were sustained by evidence presented by the Prosecutor from the supposed information contained in the archives of the computers belonging to "Raúl Reyes", high commander of the FARC-EP. Reyes was massacred along with the majority of his company and Ecuadorian and Mexican civilians, in Ecuadorian territory by Colombian military forces in coordination with those of the USA on March 1st, 2008, under the title Operation Fenix. The act of that said operation violated the sovereignty and integrity of the territory of Ecuador, Law 519 of 1999, referring to the Convention on Judicial Cooperation with Ecuador, and Law 600 of the Penal Procedure Code. These establish the protocols to follow regarding the collection of evidence in the exterior. The illegal manner in which this evidence was gathered invalidates it so that it may not be used in any penal process in Colombia.
Moreover, Interpol at the time expressed the opinion, based on its examinations of the computers, that Colombia's anti-terrorism unit manipulated tens of thousands of files of the computer. To the same end, Captain Ronald Hayden Coy Ortiz, investigator for the anti-terrorist group of the Central Directorate of Judicial Police and Intelligence, (DIJIN), and witness for the prosecution, admitted in court to having opened and manipulated computer files without judicial authorization before that it was submitted for review. He also testified that the computer only contained files, not emails, despite the fact that the evidence cited against Obando was based on alleged emails.
Colombia's Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that the evidence was collected in Ecuador by soldiers who did not have the functions of judicial police and that the archives of the computers belonging to "Raúl Reyes" could not be used as evidence in a judicial process. This decision resulted from the investigation against ex-Senator Wilson Borja for presumed links with the FARC-EP. It is a death blow for the process known as the "Farc-politica", which was no more than a smoke curtain for the ex-President Álvaro Uribe Vélez in order to divert the national and international attention from the "Para-politica", which uncovered the penetration of the Colombian government of paramilitary groups in all branches of power. Many of those implicated were Pres. Uribe's closest allies.
Others accused with the same charges as Sen. Wiloson Borja--Carlos Lozano, Editor of the weekly La Voz, Sen. Gloria Inés Ramirez and Jaime Dussan, have already been absolved by the Supreme Court in their dealings with the Prosecutor. Also absolved of said charges was the academic and professor of the National University, Miguel Ángel Beltrán. At this time, other cases that have not so prospered are the cases of the Congresspeople Carlos Julio González, Mauricio Jaramillo and Gema López of the Liberal Party, Alexander López of the Democratic Pole (Polo Democrático), and Pedro Nelson Pardo, elected by the now dissolved Wing-Team Colombia (Alas-Equipo Colombia).
Throughout these three years of detention, Liliany has been victim of different abuses that range from physical aggression to intimidation to the transfer to a unit where she is kept surrounded by common criminals, narco-traffickers and extraditable paramilitaries with the intention of isolating her and breaking her emotionally. Meanwhile, judicial authorities have rejected her different motions and appeals including Habeas Corpus, solicitations for immediate release based on the inadmissability of the evidence, the prescription of terms (referring to laws requiring the release of inmates held for long periods without charges or an appearance before a judge), as well as other kinds of motions. Such is the case that the repeated solicitations from both the defense and the national and international communities demanding that the case be advanced, today are sunk in a bureaucratic limbo. It is the same regarding the adoption of preventative measures that might guarantee due process, the protection of Liliany and her family and the home detention denied her nine times without any justification, despite that she is a single mother, head of family.
Furthermore, initiatives brought before international organs, such as the Amicus Curie (Friend of the Court Statement) presented before the International Commission of Human Rights (ICHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS), have been ignored as much by the international entities as by the authorities in Colombia.
For all the aforementioned arguments, there is no doubt that Liliany's detention continues for political reasons, especially after the technical judgment of the Supreme Court of Justice that invalidates the evidence of the computers.
As the International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners, we ratify our unrestricted support for the immediate freedom of LILIANY OBANDO VILLOTA since the charges against her are based in illegal evidence. There exists no motive whatsoever to maintain her in prison.
We also make a call to the national and international community that they denounce such outrages against her.
Free Liliany Obando Now!
International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners - INSPP
www.inspp.org
WHAT YOU CAN DO--TAKE ACTION!

There are several avenues open to persons joining the fight on behalf of Liliany Obando and other political prisoners: One is to write to Lily, who very much appreciates hearing directly from supporters. She reads and writes English as well as Spanish.

Her address is:

Liliany Patricia Obando Villota
TD 06550093, Patio 7
Reclusorio de mujeres el Buen Pastor
Carrera 47 # 84-25
Entre Rios, Bogota
Colombia

Emails can also be sent to Liliany via campaign4freedom@gmail.com. However, she does not have access to a computer or the internet, so emails will be copied and mailed to her.

Two, persons working in support of Liliany are urged to call for her release in letters addressed to Colombian political leaders and to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia.

Send your letters to:

Juan Manuel Santos, Presidencia de la República, Carrera 8 No.7-26, Palacio de Nariño - Bogotá, D.C., E-mail: comunicacionesvp@presidencia.gov.co

German Vargas Lleras, Ministerio del Interior y de Justicia, Carrera 9a. No. 14-10 - Bogotá, D.C. e-mail: german.vargas@mij.gov.co

Colombian Office of the United Nations High Commisioner for Human Rights (Officina en Colombia del Alto Comisionado de Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos), Calle 114 No. 9-45 Torre B Oficina 1101, Edificio Teleport Bussines Park, Bogotá, Colombia, E-mail: oacnudh@hchr.org.co.
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QUICK LINKS
Letter in support of Liliany Obando from UK's Peace and Justice in Colombia

Letter in Spanish from Liliany Obando on the 3rd Anniversary of her unjust imprisonment
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