A United Nations working group on arbitrary detention began an official ten-day visit to Colombia Tuesday.
At least 6,648 Colombians were victims of arbitrary arrests between
August 2002 and June 2005, including 77 massive detentions in the same
period, according to various studies by NGOs reported by Spanish press agency EFE
The visit is in response to an invitation by president Álvaro Uribe to visit several region’s detention centers and do interviews with high-ranking state and executive officials, EFE reported.
The delegation will visit detention centers in Bogotá, Cali, Arauca. It is lead by Spanish jurist Manuela Carmena, president of the Arbitrary Detention Working Group.
The working group has charged that arbitrary detentions have risen under the Uribe Administration.
Press reports did not give a government perspective.
