04326
July 20, 2004

Colombians defend jailed rights worker

U.S. Presbyterians asked to write letters on student’s behalf

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE — An attorney is seeking the release of a young law student in Barranquilla, Colombia, charging that the government has no evidence to justify his incarceration.

     Maurico Avilez Alvarez, who worked in the office of an ecumenical human-rights advocacy group on the campus of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (PCC) in Barranquilla, has been in a city jail for nearly two months.

     Avilez, who was arrested by military intelligence agents, faces charges of terrorism, homicide and subversion in connection with a series of December bombings that killed one person and injured more than 70 others.

     “The accusations are incoherent and there is no proof,” said Ildemar Alberto MOlina Garai, the Barranquila attorney representing Avilez. ”You can’t accuse someone without proof.”

     Avilez was arrested on June 10 in a doctor’s office in Baranquila by officers in civilian clothes. He was held incommunicado for at least 24 hours and interrogated without an attorney present. The judicial system was not immediately notified of his arrest.

     According to Molina, the arrest was based on the testimony of a paid government informant, Luis Enrique Meneses Pedraza, an accused terrorist who allegedly has sought amnesty from the government.

     Molina said the court may take another 20 to 30 days to answer the petition he filed on July 13, and in the meantime Avilez is being held in a cell with five dangerous criminals.

     Civil-rights groups are protesting Avilez’s incarceration, which they claim is part of a government effort to stifle legitimate efforts to guard citizens’ human rights.

     “This detention is part of a campaign against unions, displaced persons and human-rights workers,” charged the Center for Study and Development of Human Rights (CSDHR), Avilez’s employer.

     CSDHR is asking Presbyterians to write Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos  (fax number: 011-57-1-334-1138) and President Alvaro Uribe (fax number: 011-57-1-342-0592) to ask for Avilez’s release and government guarantees that human-rights workers will be permitted to work without fear of threats or persecution.

     On June 11, Avilez wrote a letter describing the plight of human-rights workers in Colombia. “We, so many men and women of our country, are daily severely harassed, murdered, raped, repressed and have our dignity degraded, without any justifiable reason,” he wrote. “There will never be reason — within any logic — for this to be just.

     “Today it is my turn to live this ... not to listen to it, not to record the facts, not to tell about it, not to say how so many people are suffering. Today it is my turn to live it, to live the unjust, disturbed, frenzy of this state as it sinks into its blindness of bitterness and outrage. You all know me. You watched me grow in years, experience and knowledge … through this constant struggle to make this world more humane.”

     Avilez denied involvement in any crime and said his cell is intended to be a “tomb for (his) dreams.” But he insisted that justice is possible in Colombia:

     “You know it. I know it. I know that there will be justice. I know there will be rights for all brothers and sisters. Like a big family, we will be able to achieve it.”

     In addition to Avilez, 11 displaced persons are also charged in connection with the bombing. The Rev. Milton Mejia, the general secretary of the PCC, said the defendants all frequented denominational offices and were clients of its assistance programs.

     CHDSR also charges that Avilez’ civil rights are being violated.

     The government did not respond to questions from the Presbyterian News Service.

     In his letter, Avilez said human-rights work in Colombia is a vocation in which a person “daily and constantly surrenders” his life for others, “as Christ taught.”

     Molina said Avilez will probably have to leave Colombia if he is released. “The best thing he can do is get out of the country,” he said. “In Colombia, those who have this type of charge are often assassinated.”