Written question asked by Jeff Ennis (Labour) on Monday, 22 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 24 March 2010. It was answered by Chris Bryant (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 March 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Colombia: Human Rights

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received reports on the possible involvement of soldiers of the 7th Mobile Brigade of the Colombian Army in the recent assassination of Colombian human rights defender Jhonny Hurtado; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: I was dismayed to learn of the killing of Mr. Hurtado, who was President of the Human Rights committee of La Catalina, in the La Macarena region, and who had met members of the Justice for Colombia delegation that visited Colombia in December. I have received no reports about the involvement of members of the Colombian armed forces in the killing of Mr. Hurtado. However, our ambassador in Bogota has requested updates on the progress of the investigation into his killing from the Director of the Presidential Human Rights Programme and the Head of the International Relations Unit at the Colombian Prosecutor's Office.

Secondary information