Photo: CAJAR lawyer Yessika Hoyos.
PBI-Canada notes that: “Members of the IX International Caravana of Jurists to Colombia express their serious concern about death threats against human rights lawyers Yessika Hoyos Morales and Alirio Uribe, and three members of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE), Candelaria Barrios Acosta, Malena Martínez Montoya and Juan David Díaz Chamorro.”
The Caravana of Jurist members – Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), Colombian Caravana, UK Lawyers Group, Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), Fédération des Barreaux d’Europe (FBE), International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk (OIAD) – are calling on Colombia authorities “to promptly and effectively investigate the threats, ensure the safety of those targeted and guarantee that lawyers can carry out their professional duties without intimidation or reprisals”.
Specifically, the signatory groups are calling on Colombian authorities to:
- Promptly, thoroughly, independently and effectively investigate the death threats reported on 18 October 2026, including their connection to the individuals’ involvement in the La Guaripa proceedings, and bring those responsible to justice in accordance with due process guarantees.
- Adopt immediate and appropriate protection measures for Yessika Hoyos Morales, Alirio Uribe, Candelaria Barrios Acosta, Malena Martínez Montoya and Juan David Díaz Chamorro, in consultation with those affected, including by activating relevant prevention protocols and convening the appropriate territorial protection and guarantee bodies.
- Guarantee the safe and independent exercise of the legal profession, in accordance with the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, and ensure that lawyers can represent victims of human rights violations without intimidation, stigmatisation or reprisals.
Their full statement can be read at Concern over death threats to Colombian lawyers and human rights defenders: Joint statement (October 27, 2026).
Additional reading
–PBI-Canada notes that Colombian authorities have not responded to CAJAR’s request for prevention measures following threat against lawyers (PBI-Canada, October 26, 2026)
–PBI-Canada expresses concern over the threat made against Colombian lawyer Yessika Hoyos and three members of Movice-Sucre (PBI-Canada, October 20, 2026).
