Photo: Yessika Hoyos.
El Espectador reports on a death threat against lawyer Yessika Hoyos, a member of the José Alvear Restrepo Collective (Cajar) in Colombia.
The threat has also been made against three members of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (Movice) in the department (province) of Sucre: Candelaria Barrios Acosta, Malena Martínez Montoya and Juan David Díaz Chamorro.
The newspaper reports: “At 1:05 p.m. on October 18, a message arrived on the phone of lawyer Yessika Hoyos Morales: ‘If William steps on jail, you (sic) Candelaria, Malena and Juan David buy the boxes (stay still) we are following you.’”
It is believed that this is related to the conviction of William Martínez Santamaría, the former director of Comfasucre, the Family Compensation Fund of Sucre, who has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for the killing of three brothers in the village of La Guaripa in Sucre in January 2018.
Hoyos represented the victims in this court case while Movice accompanies the family in their search for justice.
El Espectador notes: “Now, a month after the conviction, the message received by Hoyos and Barrios threatens reprisals if Martínez Santamaría goes to prison.”
Cajar comments: “This threat occurs in a country where, between January and August 2026, at least 112 social leaders and human rights defenders were murdered, and where the Constitutional Court has declared an unconstitutional state of affairs due to the lack of guarantees for their work (Judgment SU-546 of 2023). Three of the four people threatened are women defenders, which aggravates the risk.”
Cajar also calls “on the international community, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, the Inter-American Commission, the diplomatic corps, and human rights organizations to accompany the threatened persons and to follow up on the State’s response.”
Solidarity from the Central Union of Workers (CUT)
In a social media post, the Central Union of Workers (CUT) has expressed “its full solidarity with Yessika Hoyos, a member of Cajar, who has been the victim of threats, stigmatization, and persecution.” CUT adds: “We demand that the Government of Abelardo de la Espriella provide immediate protection for her and her family, as well as justice and punishment for those responsible.”
Statements of solidarity
Humanidad Vigente (Humanity Endures) has also posted: “We express our solidarity and demand guarantees for their lives, an investigation that allows us to identify those responsible and the recognition of the work of those who defend human rights and support victims in their search for truth and justice.”
And the Ombudsman’s Office of Colombia has expressed its “deep concern over the reported death threats”.
Accompaniment
Peace Brigades International has accompanied the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR) since 1995.
PBI-Canada and PBI-Colombia briefly met with Hoyos during a visit to the Cajar office in Bogota on July 5, 2022.
We continue to follow this.
