CASE No - Inter-Parliamentary Union

CL/183/SR.1
ANNEX XV
CASE No. CO/140 - WILSON BORJA - COLOMBIA
Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU Governing Council at its 183 rd session
(Geneva, 15 October 2008)
The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
Referring to the case of Mr. Wilson Borja, an incumbent member of the Colombian
Congress and vocal critic of the Colombian Government, as outlined in the report of the Committee on
the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/183/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its
182 nd session (April 2008),
Taking account of the information provided by the source on 11 August 2008,
Considering the following information on file:
- Mr. Wilson Borja suffered an attempt on his life on 15 December 2000, after he had
received repeated death threats; on 26 August 2005, an indictment was brought against
five accused who had not yet been apprehended following the sentencing of four persons
to prison terms ranging between 28 and 60 years; one of the convicts, Army Major César
Alonso Maldonado Vidales, escaped from the Military Police Battalion 13 detention centre
in November 2004, even though he was being guarded by some 30 prison officers, but
was captured again on 15 July 2008; two army officers were punished - one for a
disciplinary offence leading to his suspension for 80 days and the other to a two-year
suspended prison sentence - for their responsibility in the escape; two of the other
convicts, former Sergeant Evangelista Basto Bernal and Mr. Regulo Rueda Chávez were
reportedly included by the Colombian Government in the list of those enjoying the
privileges offered under the Justice and Peace Law, which is applicable exclusively to
demobilized members of illegal armed groups, on the grounds that they belonged to the
Bloque Centauros of the Autodefensas Unidad de Colombia, even though no such claim
had been made by this group itself; given the time already spent in detention, these
persons may soon be released; the alleged masterminds of the attack, paramilitary leaders
Salvatore Mancuso and Evert Veloza Garcia (alias "HH"), will reportedly stand trial in the
United States of America, but only on drug-related charges;
- There have reportedly been deficiencies on several occasions (starting in May 2006) in
Mr. Borja’s protection scheme, in particular with respect to his security vehicles, about
which he has regularly complained to the Ministry of Interior and Justice without any
action being taken; Mr. Borja has therefore felt obliged on several occasions, most recently
at the end of March 2008, to stay at home until his security was fully ensured;
- Following the killing on 1 March 2008 by the Colombian military of high-ranking FARC
member Raúl Reyes and the discovery of reportedly compromising material in his
computers, on 22 May 2008 the Attorney General requested the Colombian Supreme
Court to investigate Mr. Borja, along with others, for his alleged links with the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC); on 4 July 2008, the Supreme Court
opened a preliminary investigation in this respect; the source affirms that the documents
found are written by others in which Mr. Borja's name appears, as do those of many
others, and described his public activities as a parliamentarian and previously as a labour
union leader; the source affirms that the authorities passed the collected information to
selected media even though the investigation was ongoing; when Mr. Borja was publicly
linked to FARC in a radio interview on 20 February 2007, he lodged a complaint with the
Committee on Accusations of the House of Representatives, whose investigation is under
way,