2018
Resolution No. 25/18
PM 309-18, 310-18 - Javier Ortega Reyes, Paúl Rivas Bravo and Efraín Segarra Abril, Colombia and Ecuador
On April 12, 2018, the IACHR moved to request the adoption of precautionary measures in favor of Javier Ortega Reyes, Paúl Rivas Bravo and Efraín Segarra Abril, in Colombia and Ecuador. The request for precautionary measures alleges that the proposed beneficiaries, members of a journalistic team, were kidnapped by a splinter group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, by their Spanish acronym) on March 26, 2018, in the border area between the two countries, and notes that the country where beneficiaries are currently being held remains uncertain. After assessing the legal and factual allegations, the IACHR considers that the information that has been submitted shows, in principle, that beneficiaries face a situation of grave and urgent risk. Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of the IACHR’s Rules of Procedure, the Commission asked Colombia and Ecuador to take any measures necessary to preserve beneficiaries’ lives and personal integrity; to adopt any measures necessary for them to be able to do their journalistic work in the enjoyment of their freedom of expression, without being subjected to intimidation, threats and other acts of violence; and to report on any actions taken to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of this precautionary measure.