Detained human rights defender David Rabelo Crespo

On 14 September 2010 human rights defender David Rabelo Crespo was arrested in Barrancabermeja, Colombia and is facing politically motivated charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and aggravated murder.

A well known defender, David is the secretary of the Board of Directors of the Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CREDHOS (Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in Colombia.

Prior to his arrest David and his extended family had death threats directed towards them which have only increased since his arrest.

Further Information

David is currently being held on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and aggravated murder.

The charges have been brought about as a result of accusations that have been made against him by a member of the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Santander y Cesar- AUSAC, Mario Jaimes Mejía.

It is believed that Mr Mejia is bringing these charges in an attempt to reduce his own sentence as under the Justice and Peace Law (JPL) 975 of 2005, former paramilitaries can get reduced prison sentences in exchange for full confessions regarding their participation in paramilitary actions. Invoking this law in an attempt to reduce his 40 year sentence, Mario Jaimes Mejía has accused David Rabelo Crespo of instigating the murder of the Secretary for Public Works of Barrancabermeja David Nuñez Cala.

Front Line believes that the detention of David is directly related to his human rights work.