An alleged FARC collaborator and financier began a hunger strike on Wednesday following what she said were too many “irregularities in her case,” according to a communique.
Liliany Obando has been on a hunger strike since Wednesday after being rearrested on August 6 for her purported ties with Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, FARC.
The press release reads “[Obando] is being politically persecuted by security agencies of the Colombian state, stigmatized for her critical thinking and commitment to fight for human rights.”
“We call on Colombia’s Ombudsman, the International Committee of the Red Cross, human right defenders, and the national and international community to act urgently, so that the Colombian authorities stop this persecution and the media circus that has have re-victimized her, putting her physical security and her family at risk.”
Obando, a human rights and union activist, was rearrested on charges of “aggravated rebellion,” and sentenced to 70 months in prison and a fine of $374,000. However, this has not been her first run in with the Colombian law.
MORE: Colombia police rearrest activist for alleged ties with FARC
The self-proclaimed political prisoner was arrested in 2008 but released after three years in prison when it came to light that members of Colombia’s now defunct intelligence agency, DAS, has manipulated evidence in her case.
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Sources
- Email communique from Matiz Gustavo (Colombia Reports)
