International civil society organisations reject the excessive use of firearms and police abuse in the city of Bogotá that caused the death of 13 persons and 400 injured, 72 of them with firearms, and 3 women sexually harassed
The Cooperation Space for Peace, the International Office for Human Rights – Action Colombia, and the civil society international organisations that have signed this statement, would like to express serious concerns about the killing of Colombian citizen Javier Ordóñez during his arrest, on the early morning of September 9, 2020. Mr. Ordóñez allegedly died after receiving blows to the head inflicted by members of the national police force. We would also like to express serious concerns about police abuses and the excessive use of firearms during protests that took place in reaction to this serious incident. According to a report from Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 13 people in Soacha and Bogotá were killed during these protests and, according to figures from the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá, more than 400 people were injured, 72 of them due to firearms. In particular, we would like to highlight three cases in which three women were victims of sexual abuse and harassment, verbal abuse, arbitrary detention and bribery, reported by Colombian NGO Temblores to have been committed in a police station or CAI in the city of Bogotá.
