• This is the third time that the human rights lawyer has received threats related to this case, even though she no longer represents the victims at the JEP.
• We call on the Colombian State to implement the necessary and effective measures to guarantee the life of Yessika Hoyos.

 

Bogotá, 22 January 2024. The José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR) publicly denounces new death threats against the organization´s current president, Yessika Hoyos Morales. Today’s threat is related to the case of Jenner Alfonso Mora, one of the young victims of the Mondoñedo Massacre, committed by members of the National Police – DIJIN in 1996.

Even though she no longer represents the victims at the JEP (Special Jurisdiction for Peace), today at 2:46 pm, she received the following text message on her cell phone: “We see that you continue to help that SOB guerrilla in Girardot de Alfonso and this is the second time you have been told not to stick your nose wher (sic) you are not called, what happened to his son could happen to you.” These threatening words were sent from cell number 3108044667.

This is the third time that the lawyer has received this kind of threat in relation to the Mondoñedo Massacre case. On Thursday, 26 May 2022, both Ms. Hoyos and Mr. Alfonso Mora, Jenner Alfonso Mora’s father, received similar threats. Additionally, the day before, on Wednesday, 25 May 2022, Yessika Hoyos discovered that in the afternoon, people had illegally entered her home (See public complaint). There are still no known investigative results regarding these events.

A year prior, on Friday, 11 June 2021, both Ms. Hoyos and her then client, Mr. Alfonso Mora, received threatening text messages related to their participation before the JEP (See public complaint).

Likewise, in December 2023, Senator Wilson Arias denounced that he had been harassed from Ms. Hoyos’ cell phone number, raising fears that her telephone account has been cloned.

We recently reported that on 8 January CAJAR lawyer Santiago Salinas Miranda was victim to a physical attack, at the hands of two women who had previously harassed other CAJAR members, including Yessika Hoyos.

Finally, it is important to remember that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Ct HR) is pursuing a case against the Colombian State for illegal intelligence, threats, attacks, and other acts of continued persecution against CAJAR members. Testimonies from over 30 CAJAR members and their families have been submitted for the international case, including that of Yessika Hoyos, regarding different aggressions and human rights violations experienced while performing her  legal and legitimate work. Due to this persecution, the I/A Ct HR has ordered precautionary measures in favor of all CAJAR members.

Given these events:

We call on the Colombian State to take the necessary and effective measures to guarantee the life and integrity of Ms. Yessika Hoyos and Mr. Alonso Mora, as a victim recognized by the JEP.

We demand that the Attorney General’s Office diligently investigate these new attacks against the victims of the massacre and their representatives, as well as the more than 100 aggressions against CAJAR members that remain unpunished.

We urge the Colombian State to adopt a comprehensive public policy that provides guarantees for social leaders and human rights defenders.

We urge the JEP to consider and monitor these serious incidents that threaten procedural guarantees for victims and hinder the search for truth and justice.

We ask for international solidarity from the international community by rejecting attacks against victims who demand justice and the human rights defenders who represent them. These attacks must end. #ParaQueNoSeRepitan (NonRepetitionNow).

The Mondoñedo Massacre

The Mondoñedo Massacre, committed on 6 and 7 September 1996 by members of the National Police – DIJIN, took the lives of four youth: Vladimir Zambrano, Arquímedes Moreno, Jenner Alfonso Mora Moncaleano, and Juan Carlos Palacio Gómez.

On 7 September, their bodies were found in the Mondoñedo municipal garbage dump, located on the “Fute” Hacienda, near the road between Mosquera and Soacha. At the same time, Martín Alonso Valdivieso and Federico Quesada were murdered in the Bogotá neighborhoods of Fontibón and Kennedy, respectively.

Prior to the crime, a group of men from the DIJIN had identified the victims as members of the Antonio Nariño urban network of the FARC-EP guerrilla structure, which in 1995 detonated an explosive device at the Kennedy police station of Bogotá, killing three uniformed officers. The policemen acted on their own, executing the young men and incinerating their bodies to avoid recognition.

On 3 August 2001, police officer William Nicolás Chitiva González confessed to the events and apologized to the family members. Later, in 2007, he was murdered along with his two sons, events that remain in impunity. In 2013 and 2017, eight members of the police were convicted for the perpetration of the massacre.