Families of three murdered Colombian unionists appealed a US court decision shielding former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe from testifying in the case against coal giant Drummond, reported Noticias Uno Sunday.
A Washington D.C. federal judge decided former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe did not have to testify in the case against US coal giant Drummond last December.
Drummond was fined for using paramilitary groups as security for its operations in Colombia, and is accused of using the same forces to combat union activism through violence.
Last month former paramilitary Alcides Mattos Tabares told Colombian media Drummond had paid his group $1.5 million to murder union leaders.
In the appeal, lawyer for the three families Terry Collingsworth said many former paramilitaries and Drummond employees who had come forth to testify against the company had been threatened. Former contractor Jaime Blanco Maya said, “all witnesses have received threats and all witnesses have been promised money to change their testimony.”
If the appeal goes through Uribe will have to testify in a US court on the connections between paramilitary groups and multinational corporations working in Colombia.
