Front Line is concerned following reports received of recent incidents of harassment and stigmatisation of la Asamblea Permanente de Derechos Humanos de Bolivia (Permanent Assembly on Human Rights of Bolivia – APDHB), in particular, of human rights lawyers Dr Jorge Wilder Quiroz Quispe and Dr Claudia Lecoña, who are married, and of Dr Marcelo H. Garcia.

Further Information

APDHB is an independent human rights organisation working on the investigation of human rights violations in Bolivia.

On 17 August 2010, APDHB's President, Ms Yolanda Herrera, launched a document named the “Caranavi Report”, which presented APDHB's conclusions regarding their investigation into events which occurred on 7 and 8 May 2010 during a police operation in the Caranavi region. Police intervened to break up a group of protesters who were blocking a major road. During the operation two youths died in circumstances which have never been clarified.

Also on 17 August, Jorge Wilder Quiroz Quispe and Claudia Lecoña, lawyers for the victims of the Caranavi incident and partners of APDHB, filed a lawsuit with regard to the killings, citing Mr Sacha Sergio Llorenti Soliz, Minister for Government, Mr Gustavo Torrico, a former Deputy Minister for the Interior, and Mr Oscar Nina, Commander General of the Police, for the alleged crime of murder.

On Friday 20 August, Dr Marcelo H. Garcia, a member of APDHB, gave a radio interview clarifying certain points in the report. The following Monday, 23 August, when he returned to work at the Department of Governance of La Paz, Marcelo Garcia was reportedly informed without explanation that he had been dismissed from his position as a Senior Clerk.

On 26 August a press conference was given by Police Commander Oscar Nina, who made accusations that Jorge Quiroz was a former Peruvian policeman who did not have Bolivian citizenship. Oscar Nina also stated that he would pursue those who “make accusations against the police without proof” (aquellos que "acusen sin pruebas a la Policía").

Early on the morning of 27 August, Jorge Quiroz and Claudia Lecoña filed a petition for injunction in court against Oscar Nina, accusing him of discrimination, violation of their privacy and security as well as psychological damage, asking the judge to order an end to persecution against them. The petition was rejected, but the presiding judge recommended that Oscar Nina cease making statements against the two lawyers publicly. Later that day, Jorge Quiroz and Claudia Lecoña's office in Yanacocha street was raided by police, reportedly to search for illegal drugs. Computer equipment was confiscated although the search warrant reportedly did not sanction their seizure.

On 28 August, their home was searched by police, allegedly as a result of an anonymous complaint which accused the two human rights defenders of criminal acts. Uniformed police officers along with one officer in plainclothes confiscated computers and other material. The search was filmed and it has been reported that the tape shows material being planted at the scene: a girl in plainclothes can reportedly be seen entering the residence with a red backpack. The backpack was later “confiscated” by the policemen who carried out the search.

On 30 August, the Deputy Minister for the Interior and Police, Marcos Farfán, gave a press conference in which he stated that Jorge Quiroz had “an irregular status in the country” (una "estadía irregular en el país") because he is subject to investigations in Bolivia for narcotrafficking, and that in Peru he was wanted by Interpol for extradition. In addition, the Deputy Minister stated that an arrest warrant had been issued against Jorge Quiroz by the Supreme Court in Trujillo, Peru, and had been sent to Interpol in Bolivia for his arrest. In response, on 31 August Jorge Quiroz reportedly presented a judicial resolution dating from 2007 proving that there was no penal process pending against him by the Peruvian judiciary, and denying that he had even been subject to an arrest warrant.

A second raid of the lawyers' home reportedly took place on 1 September. Jorge Quiroz also was required to present documentation to the state's Migration offices. He stated afterwards that he was questioned for approximately three hours regarding his entry into Bolivia, how he maintained himself and questions of a personal nature. He agreed to present further documentation, including photocopies of his professional qualifications.

Front Line believes that the public statements, searches and investigations by the authorities in relation to the aforementioned human rights defenders connected to APDHB constitute an attempt to prevent them from pursuing their investigations and discredit their work. Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of members of APDHB, particularly Jorge Quiroz, Claudia Lecoña and Marcelo Garcia.