Case History: Dagoberto Giraldo Henao
On 5 September 2015, a judge declared the arrest of human rights defender Mr Dagoberto Giraldo Henao unlawful and he was subsequently released. He may, however, still face charges.
On 4 September 2015, at approximately 3:45pm, he was arrested in the municipality of San Juan del Doncello, department of Caquetá, and falsely accused of rebellion and conspiracy to commit terrorism.
Dagoberto Giraldo Henao is the President of the Junta de Acción Comunal de las Américas (Community Action Board of the Americas) and a board member of theJunta directiva de la Asociación Campesina Cordillera de los municipios de Montañita, Florencia, Paujil y Doncello – Acomflopad (Rural Cordillera Association of the Municipalities of Montañita, Florencia, Paujil y Doncello). Both organisations are associated with the Asociación Nacional de Zonas de Reserva Campesina – ANZORC(National Association of Rural Reserve Areas).
On 5 September 2015, a judge declared the arrest of human rights defender Mr Dagoberto Giraldo Henao unlawful and he was subsequently released. He may, however, still face charges.
On 4 September 2015, at approximately 3:45pm, he was arrested in the municipality of San Juan del Doncello, department of Caquetá, and falsely accused of rebellion and conspiracy to commit terrorism.
ANZORC is a country-wide association of 76 organisations in Colombia that represents the interests of rural communities in different regions of the country and seeks to aid rural communities in claiming their rights to land and food sovereignty. ANZORC further acts as an interlocutor of the rural farmers' (campesinos) interests and a mediator in land disputes, helping to defend and promote human rights in these communities.
The human rights defender was arrested in an operation conducted by the police and army on 4 September 2015 in relation to unsubstantiated accusations of rebellion and conspiracy to commit terrorism. Following his arrest, Dagoberto Giraldo Henao was taken to the XII Brigade (Brigada XII), where the 35th Unit of the Prosecutor's Office – the Antiterrorism Unit (Unidad 35 de la Fiscalía – Unidad Antiterrorismo) is located. He was held there overnight.
On 5 September 2015, Dagoberto Giraldo Henao was brought before a supervisory judge (juez de control de garantías) who declared the arrest unlawful, citing a procedural error as the arrest warrant did not establish the date on which the alleged incidents occurred. Following this decision, Dagoberto Giraldo Henao was immediately released. The Prosecutor's office has appealed this decision and the human rights defender's current situation remains unclear and he may still face charges.
The human rights defender's lawyers have not received any formal complaints concerning the alleged charges. Dagoberto Giraldo Henao's arrest is believed to have been linked to a conference organised by the Cumbre Agraria, Étnica y Popular (Agrarian, Ethnic and Peoples' Summit), of which ANZORC is a member organisation. The conference was held between 30 August 2015 and 5 September 2015 and sought to promote and defend rural farmer's (campesinos) rights. On 1 September 2015, the Cumbre Agraria, Étnica y Popular reported that during a peaceful protest which it had organsed outside the Ministry for Agriculture, there was a heavy police and military presence, and that government officials had falsely reported, via Twitter, that the protest had been violent.
