Afro-Colombian human rights defenders Sara Quiñonez and Tulia Maris Valencia, activists with our local partner organization Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN), have been unjustly detained. Their imprisonment is in retaliation for their community organizing to demand peace and justice.
Below is a summary update and action recently shared by PCN (Spanish original available here).
Sara and Tulia have been arbitrarily detained since April 2018, a violation of their right to due process. As this time of year brings with it a message of gathering, love, joy, reconciliation, we are focusing our energy in sending strength, love and resistance to our sisters Sara and Tulia Maris as we continue fighting for their freedom.
Sara and Tulia Maris’ arbitrary arrest and detention confirm again and again that our sisters are victims of a racist State that has been discriminating against them and violating their rights with total impunity. They are being criminalized for their roles as defenders of the collective rights of Afro-descendant communities and for belonging to a Community Council that has endured every imaginable form of armed oppression found in our territories.
They remain imprisoned, without a hearing or indictment, which should have happened within 100 days of their arrest. Their ongoing detention violates their right to due process.
Read more about Sara and Tulia:
- Action Alert: Free Sara and Tulia
- International Letter Demands Freedom for Sara Quiñonez and Tulia Maris Valencia
- Sign-On Letter: Free Detained Afro-Colombian Women Human Rights Defenders
- After Colombia's Elections, Standing with Our Partners for Meaningful Peace
- Who Benefits When Women Human Rights Defenders Are Targeted?
