The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) condemned the decision of President Ivan Duque's administration to withdraw from the hearing opened by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) over journalist Jineth Bedoya's rape case.
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On May 25, 2000, Bedoya was kidnapped at Bogota's La Modelo Prison while she was waiting for authorization to enter the premises to conduct an investigation on violence in the country's penitentiaries. She was then tortured and raped.
On Monday, the Colombian State disqualified five of the six judges appointed to the IACHR to follow the case, claiming that they were "prejudiced" and did not provide impartiality guarantees.
"The criminals have wanted to shut me up all these years, and the Colombian State intends to do the same today. The withdrawal shows that it does not have the slightest intention to give justice in my case and other cases of sexual violence," Bedoya tweeted.
The meme reads, "Internation Women Day's mobilization kicks off at the National Park in Bogota."
An investigation by the Attorney General's Office showed that police officers were involved in the kidnapping and that the aggressions against the journalist were a reprisal for her work.
In 2011, Bedoya presented the lawsuit that was approved after a long process. On Monday, however, the IACHR suspended the public hearings that will resume "in due time."
"We are concerned about this delay. We hope that the IACHR continues with the case and that the local justice system tries the intellectual authors and those people who allowed impunity," SIP official Carlos Jornet said.