The Law Society Gazette reports that between August 2010 and May 2012, an estimated 51 lawyers and their associates have been murdered, according to Bogota human rights lawyer Alirio Uribe Muñoz.

Political prisoners

Among the charity groups supporting legal advocacy in the area is Colombia Caravana, founded in 2003 after the murder by paramilitaries of a lawyer acting for people whose land had been unlawfully seized.

The organisation has just completed its third visit to Colombia in the northern city of Bucaramanga, and will be releasing its report on the conditions next month. It is not uncommon for lawyers acting for political prisoners and displaced people to be imprisoned for ‘rebellion’, or to become the targets of the police, army, or local authorities.

Colombia Caravana has been integral in supporting local communities and legal advocates in the effort to expose the crimes of those in positions of authority.