Journalist and woman human rights defender censored by the court
On 25 July 2019, the Second Specialised Criminal Judge of Bogotá prohibited journalist and woman human rights defender, Claudia Julieta Duque from speaking, giving interviews, informing, issuing opinions and publishing photographs in relation to the legal process against former Administrative Department of Security (DAS) deputy director Emiro Rojas Granados, who is accused of psychological torture against her.
Claudia Julieta Duque is a human rights defender and investigative journalist who works as a correspondent with Radio Nizkor in Colombia. During her career as a journalist, she has investigated numerous high-profile cases, including those involving issues of enforced disappearance, forced recruitment of children by legal and illegal armed groups, the impact of impunity and the right to justice, and infiltration of paramilitary groups in government agencies.
On 25 July 2019, the Second Specialised Criminal Judge of Bogotá prohibited journalist and woman human rights defender, Claudia Julieta Duque from speaking, giving interviews, informing, issuing opinions and publishing photographs in relation to the legal process against former Administrative Department of Security (DAS) deputy director Emiro Rojas Granados, who is accused of psychological torture against her.
Claudia Julieta Duque is a human rights defender and investigative journalist who works as a correspondent with Radio Nizkor in Colombia. During her career as a journalist, she has investigated numerous high-profile cases, including those involving issues of enforced disappearance, forced recruitment of children by legal and illegal armed groups, the impact of impunity and the right to justice, and infiltration of paramilitary groups in government agencies.
On 25 July 2019, the Second Specialised Criminal Judge of Bogotá granted a request made by the former DAS deputy director and ordered Claudia Julieta Duque not to publicly comment and report on the case. The next hearing is scheduled for 9 October 2019. The judge’s decision to limit the defender’s right to freedom of speech was described as censorship by the Colombian NGO Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa – FLIP (Foundation for the Freedom of Press).
In 2001, Claudia Julieta Duque was investigating the murder of journalist and comedian Jaime Garzón in 1999. Thanks to her findings and perseverance, the authorities launched a criminal investigation into former DAS deputy director Emiro Rojas Granados and other members of the DAS, in 2004. Ever since, she has been subjected to repeated acts of intimidation, death threats, surveillance, smear campaigns, stigmatisation and was kidnapped in 2001, before the trial took place. The intimidation and harassment against her and her family members intensified in March 2013, when the case against DAS officials in connection with psychological torture against her became public. Since 2009, Front Line Defenders has documented continued attacks and psychological torture against Claudia Julieta Duque and her family, including the targeting of her daughter.
In November 2016, a prosecutor of the Analysis and Context Division ordered the arrest of Emiro Rojas Granados, and former DAS intelligence detective, Nestor Pachón Bermudez. Both were arrested on charges of psychological torture against Claudia Julieta Duque. In 2007, they were charged with crimes against humanity. The trial only started on 24 April 2019, after various deferrals.
Other defendants in the case include José Miguel Narváez Martínez, former deputy director and former DAS advisor convicted for the murder of Jaime Garzón; Enrique Ariza Rivas, former DAS chief of intelligence; Giancarlo Auque De Silvestri, former intelligence chief (who fled the countryrunaway); Rodolfo Medina Alemán, former DAS counterintelligence chief (who also fled the country); and former detectives William Merchán, Ronal Rivera.
This case marked a milestone in the fight against impunity in Colombia. Furthermore, Julieta Duque’s case is the first in which the criminal justice system has succeeded in identifying the alleged perpetrators responsible for the crime of psychological torture as a stand-alone crime.
Claudia Julieta Duque is beneficiary of protection measures from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights since November 2009. Over the course of the years, the Government has at times granted protection to her and her family, including the use of an armored car. This, however, has been insufficient to ensure full protection of her life and that of her family members and she was forced to temporarily leave the country.
Front Line Defenders is concerned at the attempt to censor the right to freedom of expression of the journalist and woman human rights defender in the context her trial. The right to inform and to be informed should be protected and respected, especially in light of the potential significance of this case for the fight against impunity and the pursuit of truth and justice in the country.
