Colombia
19.07.02
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: the bodies of the disappeared couple Mrs. Angela Irreño de Díaz and Mr. Héctor Jaime Díaz Alvarez have been retrieved
Case COL 190702
Forced disappearance / Assassinations
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed about the disappearance and subsequent assassination of two people in the areas between the departments of Valle and Cauca.
According to the information received from the Colombian Association of the Families of the Detained and Dispappeared (Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Colombia) –ASFADDES-, the following case of disappearance, presumed torture and assassination have been denounced in Colombia:
- On June 23rd 2002, Mrs. Angela Irreño de Díaz and Mr. Héctor Jaime Díaz Alvarez, a married couple, disappeared in Cali. On this day they had communicated with their daughter Natalia, to tell her they were leaving Cali, and it was then when they were last heard of.
Mrs. Angela Irreño de Díaz and Mr. Héctor Jaime Díaz Alvarez had left their house in Cali to go to the city of Popayan on June 20th 2002. They intended to travel to the town of Santa Rosa in the department of Cauca the following morning.
The reports affirm that the area where the couple was travelling is considered as a high risk zone. It has been reported that battles between paramilitary groups and guerrilla are frequent, and that illegal military controls and search are also commonplace.
On July 17th ASFADDES’ regional branch in Popayan was informed that two bodies had been found in the area near Rosas (Cauca), which fitted the description of the identities of the Díaz couple. The information was supposedly published on July 2nd 2002 by the local newspaper El Liberal, and it mentioned that the bodies presented signs of torture, and had possibly been there for only a few days.
According to the source, the situation of violence in the region impeded the Prosecutor’s office officials from making a notification of their death, and could only provide a death certificate. On July 4th the bodies were given back to the families and were buried in Cali.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT would like to remind that forced disappearance is considered as a crime, and expresses its condemnation of such acts of violence, of the prosecution of the civil population, the apparent impunity of the authors, and the lack of effective protective measures from the local and national authorities to prevent this acts.
Requested action:
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. Order a thorough and impartial investigation on the circumstances aforementioned, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions stated by the law;
ii. Carry out the recommendations given by the international and regional human rights organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Inter American Commission for Human Rights;
iii. Guarantee the respect for the human rights and fundamental liberties throughout the country, in conformity with the national legislation and the international human rights standards.
Addresses :
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23;(+57 1) 281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
Please also write to the Colombian diplomatic representations in your respective countries.
Geneva, July 19th 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken on the case, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Forced disappearance / Assassinations
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed about the disappearance and subsequent assassination of two people in the areas between the departments of Valle and Cauca.
According to the information received from the Colombian Association of the Families of the Detained and Dispappeared (Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Colombia) –ASFADDES-, the following case of disappearance, presumed torture and assassination have been denounced in Colombia:
- On June 23rd 2002, Mrs. Angela Irreño de Díaz and Mr. Héctor Jaime Díaz Alvarez, a married couple, disappeared in Cali. On this day they had communicated with their daughter Natalia, to tell her they were leaving Cali, and it was then when they were last heard of.
Mrs. Angela Irreño de Díaz and Mr. Héctor Jaime Díaz Alvarez had left their house in Cali to go to the city of Popayan on June 20th 2002. They intended to travel to the town of Santa Rosa in the department of Cauca the following morning.
The reports affirm that the area where the couple was travelling is considered as a high risk zone. It has been reported that battles between paramilitary groups and guerrilla are frequent, and that illegal military controls and search are also commonplace.
On July 17th ASFADDES’ regional branch in Popayan was informed that two bodies had been found in the area near Rosas (Cauca), which fitted the description of the identities of the Díaz couple. The information was supposedly published on July 2nd 2002 by the local newspaper El Liberal, and it mentioned that the bodies presented signs of torture, and had possibly been there for only a few days.
According to the source, the situation of violence in the region impeded the Prosecutor’s office officials from making a notification of their death, and could only provide a death certificate. On July 4th the bodies were given back to the families and were buried in Cali.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT would like to remind that forced disappearance is considered as a crime, and expresses its condemnation of such acts of violence, of the prosecution of the civil population, the apparent impunity of the authors, and the lack of effective protective measures from the local and national authorities to prevent this acts.
Requested action:
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. Order a thorough and impartial investigation on the circumstances aforementioned, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions stated by the law;
ii. Carry out the recommendations given by the international and regional human rights organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Inter American Commission for Human Rights;
iii. Guarantee the respect for the human rights and fundamental liberties throughout the country, in conformity with the national legislation and the international human rights standards.
Addresses :
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23;(+57 1) 281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
Please also write to the Colombian diplomatic representations in your respective countries.
Geneva, July 19th 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken on the case, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.