Daniel Quintero requested precautionary measures before the IACHR for threats - Medellín - Colombia

As he had announced, the mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero Calle, visited the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington to request precautionary measures to protect his life and that of his family, and his political rights.

During the visit, the president met with Joel Hernández García, commissioner of the IACHR and rapporteur for Colombia; María Claudia Pulido, Deputy Executive Secretary of the IACHR; and Fernanda dos Anjos, coordinator of the Precautionary Measures Section.

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In the first instance and urgently, the mayor told the IACHR about the threats he has received since before beginning his mandate and since he took office as mayor of Medellín.

He especially referred to the increase in these events in recent months through emails, messages on social networks and the construction of plans to attempt against his life that were revealed by human sources.

“As everyone knows, the demands and complaints that we have made about Hidroituango have put my life and that of my family at serious risk. That is why today, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, we have exposed these threats. Unfortunately, the Colombian State continues to fail to comply with the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Attorney General’s Office has been violating the American Convention on Human Rights,” said Quintero Calle.

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Before the @IACHR we made known the threats against my life and that of my family. In addition, we denounce the violation of the American Convention on Human Rights by the Attorney General’s Office. We request guarantees in both cases. pic.twitter.com/hghdVFc9I5

– Daniel Quintero Calle (@QuinteroCalle) February 24, 2022

Parallel, the mayor requested that his political rights and freedom of expression be protected in the recall process that he is currently facing and which coincides temporarily with the legislative elections in the country, for which the Colombian State must guarantee balance in its decisions in administrative or judicial processes.

In this regard, it also argued that the Colombian State has not complied with what was stated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that no administrative authority can prevent the defense of a democratically elected authority, which states that it has not complied with the sentence of the same IACHR in July 2020 in the case of Gustavo Petro and that requires taking legal measures to prevent the repetition of violations of political rights.

On this last point, this newspaper consulted the professor at the University of Antioquia, Alejandro Gómez Restrepo, a specialist in human rights issues, and explained that the mayor of Medellín could indeed request a precautionary measure (it is requested when there is an imminent risk or a violation of a human right) before the commission for his personal security with a technical document that is raised through a system, through a web page, but he could not do the same for the revocation process because, in simple words, this has not happened, that is, the citizenry has not voted whether or not to continue in office.

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Under this scenario, as the professor explained, the revocation could not be paused because for a precautionary measure to operate, three elements are required: urgency, necessity and irreparable damage.

“As long as the recall does not occur, we are neither in a state of emergency, nor need, nor irreparable damage. If eventually the revocation dismisses him, he could file an individual petition but he would have to first exhaust the internal resources (for example guardianships)”, explained the teacher.

MEDELLIN

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Medellín: Daniel Quintero's complaints at the IACHR cause controversy - Medellín - Colombia

Yesterday, Monday, the mayor of Medellín Daniel Quintero reported that he will travel to Washington (USA) and that there he will report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) the increase in threats against him and irregularities in what he called his dismissal.

“They tried to kill me 10 days before the elections (of the Medellín Mayor’s Office), that information also has the Prosecutor’s Office. These threats have been increasing in recent days and as the elections get closer, more threats have come,” said the local president.

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For Quintero it was necessary that his security scheme not be changed and he gave as an example Luis Carlos Galán, a candidate for the presidency of Colombia who was assassinated in 1989.

“Here they killed Galán after changing the security scheme. So for the same reason, it is necessary to bring to the attention of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights two important requests that I ask. First, that there are no changes in the security scheme because we know what happens in the country when people change their security scheme; second, that the control bodies be reminded that the only way in which a mayor can be removed is with a final criminal ruling,” said Quintero.

These declarations and denunciations of the mayor were criticized by his opponents and promoters of his revocation.

According to Andrés Felipe Rodríguez, the mayor is the one who has really harassed the opposition.

“Let us remember that it is Daniel Quintero who has harassed us, persecuted us, infiltrated us, has espionaged us, has illegally recorded us, has profiled us,” Rodríguez added.

(In context: Daniel Quintero will denounce threats and persecution against him before the IACHR)

Mayor @QuinteroCalle You have every right to go to the @IACHR @CorteIDHnothing else was missing.
Just as those who promote the recall (I’m not there) have every right that the @CNE_COLOMBIA make a decision on expenses and accounting in a timely manner.

– David Suarez Tamayo (@SuarezTrinando) February 21, 2022

For him, making opposition in the city is already a “sin” and that there is a “municipal microdictatorship” in which the recall is sought to be avoided at all costs.

“He is free to go and say whatever he wants, what makes me curious is that he go out and say that, that he goes to the IACHR. Could it be that he already has information that we are going to recall and the vote is invertible and is he using the same petrista manual to avoid the recall?”, the leader of the recall questioned.

For his part, the councilman of Medellín, Julio González, said that said complaint regarding the recall is “absurd and what he wants is to violate the National Constitution, ignoring the fundamental constitutional right of the people.”

“The revocation is a political right, it is not a sanction,” he added.

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It should be remembered that Quintero had said that he is seeking before the IACHR that “stop the persecution by some control agencies, and Colombian authorities are reminded that democratically elected mayors can only be suspended through a final criminal ruling, thanks to the ‘Petro ruling’ that prevented the breakdown of democracy in Colombia. What the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights does is protect democracy and we hope that it will do so in our case,” added the mayor.

MEDELLIN

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Daniel Quintero will denounce threats and persecution before the IACHR - Medellín - Colombia

During the government council held this Monday, February 21, the mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero reported that he will travel to Washington (USA) where he will hold a series of meetings, among which one stands out with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

According to the local president, there he will denounce an increase in the threats received against him.

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In addition, he added, he will also inform the entity about an apparent persecution against the Municipal Administration.

“In the same way, we also ask that the persecution by some control organisms cease, and the Colombian authorities are reminded that the Democratically elected mayors can only be suspended through a final criminal ruling, thanks to the ‘Petro ruling’ that prevented the breakdown of democracy in Colombia. What the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights does is protect democracy and we hope that it will do so in our case,” added the mayor.

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What the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights does is protect democracy and we hope that it will do so in our case.

The president also said that he had tensions with the National Police for a change in its security scheme.

However, he clarified that after talking with the director of the Police, General Jorge Luis Vargas, the situation was reversed and it did not escalate.

Quintero’s trip to the US capital will be on the night of this Wednesday, February 23, and he indicated that once it is over, he will travel to Barcelona (Spain).

There, he said, he will be representing Medellin at the World Mobile Congress, “the most important technology congress in the world, where it will show advances in the capital of Antioquia, especially with the Future Computing strategies and the neutral fiber optic network.”

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During these days the Secretary of Government and Management of the Cabinet, Esteban Restrepo, will be the mayor in charge.

MEDELLIN