Fate of Colombian Activist Will Set Indigenous Rights Precedent

Fate of Colombian Activist Will Set Indigenous Rights Precedent



Indigenous activist Feliciano Valencia was sentenced to 16 years over alleged kidnapping.
| Photo: Youtube / Prensa Constituyentes Paz con Justicia Social

Published 23 May 2016

Feliciano Valencia has been sentenced to 16 years over an alleged kidnapping.


The fate of a jailed Colombian Indigenous leader is expected to be decided this week as the activist appeals a 16-year prison sentence over charges of alleged kidnapping that could deliver a blow to the criminalization of protect and set a powerful precedent for the defense of Indigenous rights in the South American country.

Feliciano Valencia, winner of the 2000 National Peace Award, was arrested last year despite the Indigenous right to legal jurisdiction over their territories. He was accused of kidnapping a soldier in a 2008 incident, but his capture became an iconic symbol of the systematic repression suffered by Indigenous movements in the country.

Some 200 Indigenous community members from the southwestern department of Cauca, one of the regions hardest hit by Colombia’s more than 50 years of armed conflict, have travelled to the capital city of Bogota to support Valencia during the appeal hearing.

Indigenous authorities hope that the court will rule in Valencia’s favor and protect the right to Indigenous jurisdiction over criminal justice in their territories, enshrined in the 1991 constitution.

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Fate-of-Colombian-Activist-Will-Set-Indigenous-Rights-Precedent-20160523-0030.html