The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) met Tuesday with Colombia’s Supreme Court in Bogota’s Palace of Justice, and reported it was satisfied with the rulings handed down by the South American judicial body.
Supreme Court judges met briefly with IACHR President Diego Garcia Sayan and Secretary Pablo Saavedra, as well as Colombian Ambassador to Costa Rica Guillermo Fernandez. During the meeting court representatives reportedly expressed their desire for cooperation with the IACHR.
The IACHR representatives praised the court’s leadership for promoting the fundamental human rights of Colombians.
While the issue of the “train crash” between Colombia’s executive and the judiciary was not touched on during the meeting, the court has repeatedly called for international intervention following continued interference in the court by the government.
The Supreme Court rejected Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s request for a meeting to address several controversial issues that have recently caused friction between the two branches of government.
Uribe lashed out at the Colombian judiciary for its sentencing of retired army Colonel Alfonso Plazas Vega for his role in the 1985 Palace of Justice siege. The outgoing president has also criticized the judiciary’s arrest order for Mario Aranguren, former director of the government’s Financial Information and Analysis Unit, who is accused of involvement in the illegal wiretapping undertaken by government security agency DAS.
The government also criticized the court’s decision to refuse the extradition of key demobilized paramilitary leaders to the U.S. The extraditions were denied based on the ruling that demobilized paramilitaries participating in the Justice and Peace program must adequately complied with the national reparation process before being extradited.