Colombia 'unlawfully detained' 12,000 during anti-government protests in Bogota alone

[Judi Lynn]

Police beating a student newspaper reporter unconscious in Medellin. (Screenshot: Twitter)

by Adriaan Alsema February 11, 2020

Police in Colombia’s capital Bogota detained almost 12,000 people during last year’s anti-government protests “to criminalize” them, according to a human rights NGO.

During a debate about the police’s abuse of power, the NGO showed the Bogota city council police statistics demonstrating that 11,903 were detained during the protests between November 21 and December 22 on questionable grounds.

In 99.5% of the cases, protesters were detained and taken to a so-called Transfer Center for Protection (CTP) under a police code article that allows this “when the life and integrity of a person or third party is at risk or in danger. When the person wanders in a state of defenselessness or serious alteration of consciousness due to aspects of mental order. When the person is involved in a fight or presents aggressive or reckless behavior.”

. . .

The police records confirm allegations that Colombia’s security forces, and the anti-riot unit ESMAD in Bogota in particular, were committing human rights violation on an almost industrial scale.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombia-unlawfully-detained-12000-during-anti-government-protests-in-bogota-alone/