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** February 2, 2017
The Ignoble Act of a Nobel Laureate
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Colombia’s Santos favors amnesty for guerrillas but not a political opponent.


** By Jared Genser
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This week in Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manual Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=5728114791&e=0afcca93e2) is hosting the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=a5770e309f&e=0afcca93e2) was awarded the 2016 Prize for negotiating an end to the 50-year conflict with the left-wing rebel movement Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=fe0a0e8e8f&e=0afcca93e2) (FARC (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=0c2be58441&e=0afcca93e2) ), which claimed an estimated 200,000 lives and displaced roughly 5 million people.

Yet while Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=cb8824b385&e=0afcca93e2) was celebrated in Norway and by President Obama, his own people rejected the deal in a popular referendum, requiring him instead to push an amended deal through its Congress. A major sticking point was the requirement that some 2,000 rebels held in jail for the commission of atrocities be granted amnesty. It remains to be seen how President Trump will view Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=d9e76cde87&e=0afcca93e2) , particularly in light of his steadfast refusal to extradite FARC (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=2f96957e21&e=0afcca93e2) guerrillas to the United States for their role in major drug trafficking.

But it is indisputable that the U.S.-Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=b83a1ae642&e=0afcca93e2) relationship is critically important. The United States has invested more than $10 billion in building Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=59806d068c&e=0afcca93e2) ’s security in the last 15 years. And Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=20263fddf3&e=0afcca93e2) is Latin America’s third-largest economy and has more than $24 billion in bilateral trade with the United States.

As a human rights lawyer who has represented four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, I find it especially remarkable that the international community has totally ignored Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=943609ad97&e=0afcca93e2) ‘ domestic record, which has included persecuting opposition politicians who opposed an amnesty deal with the FARC (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=85d8a59c09&e=0afcca93e2) .

Numerous members of the Centro Democratico party, founded by former President Alvaro Uribe, have been imprisoned and in other ways persecuted for their political beliefs. As Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=cf384535b8&e=0afcca93e2) hosts a summit focused on achieving global peace, his efforts to promote peace abroad must be matched in equal measure by his efforts to achieve peace domestically. If Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=34fbcc5db9&e=0afcca93e2) does not end the persecution of the opposition, his otherwise inspiring actions for peace will be tinged with hypocrisy and intolerance.

One of the most well-known and persecuted members of the opposition is my client, Andres Felipe Arias. Mr. Arias is a former Colombian minister of agriculture who is now seeking asylum in the United States based on the political persecution he suffered at the hands of Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=1a4521e5a7&e=0afcca93e2) ‘ administration. Mr. Arias was the minister of agriculture for President Uribe from 2005 to 2009 and a 2010 presidential candidate. Because he was outpolling all other candidates in early polling, Mr. Arias’ political opponents falsely accused him of embezzlement and entering into a contract without meeting the legal requirements.

In 2014, a biased and politicized Supreme Court convicted him of both charges and sentenced him to 17 years in prison, despite the fact that four prior independent governmental investigations had previously cleared him of all charges. Mr. Arias’ case, like many of the cases against members of the opposition, was replete with due process violations. During his trial, his right to the presumption of innocence, to present a defense and to confront the charges against him were repeatedly violated.

Since under the Colombian Constitution Mr. Arias’ case was heard by the Supreme Court, he was also denied the right to appeal his conviction. In addition to not having an impartial tribunal, Mr. Arias spent nearly two years in preventive detention and was consistently denied bail without cause. Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=6468053185&e=0afcca93e2) ‘ administration kept the pressure on Mr. Arias because of his prominence in the opposition party and his popularity in Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=e0c89c5774&e=0afcca93e2) . Through Mr. Arias’ trial, Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=1737a02ed8&e=0afcca93e2) discredited the opposition and removed one of its most prominent and well-liked members from the political arena.

Since Mr. Arias’ arrival in the United States, Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=040b51b220&e=0afcca93e2) has requested his extradition to Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=8594b933fb&e=0afcca93e2) , despite his ongoing refusal to extradite FARC (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=0388cc1f82&e=0afcca93e2) members and having publicly said that there is no extradition treaty between Colombia (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=c9642bc396&e=0afcca93e2) and the United States. Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=1942cd7be9&e=0afcca93e2) ‘ persecution of members of the political opposition, but willingness to grant clemency to the FARC (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=c7eca6f3e3&e=0afcca93e2) , contradicts the goals of the summit he is hosting.

However, Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=e5ae3a6aa1&e=0afcca93e2) has the opportunity to nurture democracy and an even more profound peace by calling a halt to the persecution of his political opposition. Now that Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=662ea7b3a9&e=0afcca93e2) has concluded a peace deal with the FARC (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=a4b52d0fc3&e=0afcca93e2) , he must build a vibrant democracy in his own country so that political opinions can be freely exchanged. As the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates commences, Mr. Santos (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=f86d667a46&e=0afcca93e2) can either build on his legacy or undermine it.

• Jared Genser has served as counsel to Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Liu Xiaobo, Desmond Tutu and Elie Wiesel.

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** (http://perseus-strategies.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c39107cbeb21c5a0e6a367404&id=9f7f791a45&e=0afcca93e2)

2 de Feb de 2017

La Hipocresía del Presidente Santos

Como abogado que ha representado a cuatro laureados con el Premio Nobel de Paz y que actualmente representa a un político colombiano perseguido por la administración de Santos, sigo con mucho interés la Cumbre Mundial de Premios Nobel de Paz que se lleva a cabo esta semana en Bogotá.

Por Jared Genser

Sin embargo, mientras los laureados se reúnen en Bogotá para hablar de la paz, Santos persigue a su oposición política a través de detenciones arbitrarias y casos penales motivados por la política. Estos abusos en contra de los derechos humanos quitan méritos al reconocimiento que se le ha hecho al presidente de Colombia por su búsqueda de la paz mundial y, más aún, revelan un área en donde Santos podría realmente hacer algo por la paz interna de Colombia.

Uno de los miembros de la oposición más conocido y perseguido es Andrés Felipe Arias, exministro de Agricultura que ahora mismo busca asilo en EE. UU. En 2014, Arias fue condenado a 17 años de prisión por peculado y por celebración de contratos sin requisitos legales. El caso contra Arias, como muchos de los casos contra la oposición, estuvo plagado de abusos al debido proceso y culminó en una condena sin la prueba requerida por la ley y sin la oportunidad de una segunda instancia. Durante su juicio, el derecho a la presunción de inocencia, entre otros derechos, le fue negado. Además de enfrentar jueces y fiscales parcializados, Arias pasó casi dos años en detención preventiva sin motivo real alguno. Todo esto logró que Arias no pudiera postularse para la Presidencia ni en 2014 ni en el futuro.

Hoy en día Santos busca la extradición del exministro Arias. Pero, al mismo tiempo, rechaza la extradición de miembros de las Farc y ha dicho que no reconoce un acuerdo de extradición entre Colombia y los EE. UU. Esta hipocresía deja en evidencia la incoherencia de Santos, pues no cesa de perseguir a los líderes de la oposición política mientras, simultáneamente, actúa con clemencia hacia las Farc para no poner en peligro su acuerdo de paz.

Como Santos fue el ganador del Premio Nobel de Paz en 2016, debería ahora tomar la iniciativa y detener los abusos contra la oposición política. El pueblo colombiano, los laureados reunidos en Bogotá y el mundo entero hoy miran a Santos para ver cómo va a continuar su camino hacia la paz. Sin duda, el próximo paso debe ser la búsqueda la paz política en Colombia. Si lo hace, el legado de paz de Santos se extenderá más allá del acuerdo con las Farc. En suma, Santos tiene una gran oportunidad de afirmar la democracia colombiana y de lograr una paz verdaderamente sostenible —la paz realmente merecedora de un Nobel— si detiene la persecución en contra de su oposición política.

Jared Genser ha sido consejero jurídico de premios nobel como Desmond Tutu. Hoy es abogado del ex ministro Andrés Felipe Arias en Estados Unidos.
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