Colombia: Organization Denounces Police Brutality During Riots

The Colombian organization Movement for Life-MoVida denounced this Sunday that the riot police (ESMAD) brutally attacked the peaceful mobilization they were carrying out in Plaza Bolivar in Bogotá.

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The attack allegedly occurred minutes after Movement for Life finished the demonstration at 3:30 p.m. local time.

"Movida closed the act at 3:30 pm, without any negative event and that minutes later some law-enforcement officials began to attack indiscriminately as the demonstrators were in the process of returning to their homes,” the organization denounced in a statement.

In the statement, Movida urged Bogotá's mayor Claudia Lopez to control the public force to prevent it from killing the population, just as it did last week when more than seven people died over police violence in the protests.

The protests arose last week to reject the torture and murder of lawyer Javier Ordoñez by police officers in Bogota amid a pattern of impunity under the government of Ivan Duque. In the demonstrations, at least 13 people were killed, over 400 people were injured, and dozens were detained.

Saturday afternoon, dozens of people gathered at the Park Way, in Bogota, where mobile libraries were improvised as a protest against police brutality.