12) COLOMBIA RESUMES PERSECUTION OF LILIANY OBANDO
Special to PV
A human rights activist known by many Canadians has been imprisoned yet again by the Colombian government.
The International Network in Solidarity with Colombia's Political Prisoners has sharply condemned the latest jailing of Liliany Obando, the renowned Colombian trade unionist, documentary filmmaker, academic and human rights defender who was first taken into custody on August 8, 2008.
The INSCPP says that Obando "was one of 12 leftist political figures named as part of an offensive called `FARC‑politica' against the political opposition to the Uribe and now Santos governments. Thus began a 6‑year‑long ordeal for Liliany Obando beginning in Buen Pastor women's prison. Liliany spent almost 4 years in prison until 1st March 2012 when she was put on provisional release due to an `end of terms' determination and international pressure. While on provisional release, the Criminal Court Judge 9 sentenced Liliany Obando to 70 months imprisonment plus a US$400,000 fine. This was ratified by the Superior Court of Bogota in October 2013. The decision of the Court noted that Liliany is a single mother of two children and could serve the balance of her sentence in home detention as she did not represent a risk to society...
"Liliany's family has suffered these torments along with her. Their distress was heightened dramatically when on 5th August she was taken back into custody at the same time lawyers were mounting an appeal against a warrant for her to be taken back into detention for the remainder of her sentence. A staff strike in the Judiciary means that she is currently stuck in a holding cell or bunker at the Fiscalia (Prosecutor's Office) in Paloquemao, Bogota with extremely limited access for family or lawyers' visits.
"Again, a trial by media has been launched with misrepresentations being made that she is facing a new charge of aggravated `rebellion' ‑ the catch all charge that is used to intimidate opponents of Colombia's pariah government....
"We call on all solidarity organisations to speak out against this new injustice against Liliany and other academics, human rights campaigners and their families."
Earlier this year, the Justice for Colombia website printed Obando's reflections on the legal persecution which she has faced, and her life since her provisional release.
As she wrote, "Over these two years of provisional freedom I have tried, not without difficulty, to move ahead with every area of my life: political, as a human rights activist, as a mother, a daughter, a student, a professional, etc. I was going through the motions of a `normal' life under the constant pressure and uncertainty over the unresolved judicial case....
"Since prison, the process of coming back to life has been as complex as it was to get used to being denied my freedom. I lived, like many others, with my family, in a situation of unease and solitude, broken by a few unforgettable demonstrations of solidarity, especially from abroad.
"Since I've regained my freedom I have carried on my work, trying to contribute what I can to the dream of a fair and peaceful society, without forgetting those who remain behind bars. But my family and I carry on living as perpetual hostages, threatened, photographed and followed by state security and others... There was no time for individual or group therapy which would help us to deal with this existence. The problem of safety and risk to my family because of my presence got so difficult that I had to make a drastic decision, to avoid my family from being harassed. Few people know what it's like for a mother with young children to have to leave them once again, even if only temporarily, to avoid putting them in danger. This second separation to protect lives, which I endured for a while, created indescribable pain within my family....
"My commitment and dream of finding peace with social justice and building a new country, remain unchanged. And as a female human rights activist, my commitment to revolutionary political militancy around women's issues has been strengthened. The abuses faced by women are an affront to human dignity and in prison thousands of women endure indifference and invisibility.
"This woman, who the irrational logic of war wanted to silence and bury, is now more alive and free than ever. Once again the revolutionary Phoenix returns from the ashes in our struggle..."
For more information:
www.justiceforcolombia.org/news/article/1624/liliany-obando-a‑political-prisoner-in-colombia
(The above article is from the September 1-15, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)