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Edited/Distributed by HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network
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## author     : wnu@igc.apc.org
## date       : 07.12.97
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          WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
             ISSUE #410, DECEMBER 7, 1997
  NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 674-9499

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COLOMBIAN CONGRESS SUPPORTS EARLY RELEASE FOR MOST CRIMINALS

A measure purported to alleviate prison overcrowding in
Colombia has come under fire as too favorable to drug
traffickers and corrupt politicians. The law, which passed
the lower house of Congress almost unanimously on Dec. 2,
would grant early release to prisoners with good behavior
who had served three-fifths of their sentences, and would
also cut convicts' sentences by 60 days for every 100 days
spent studying or working. Only violent criminals such as
kidnappers, "terrorists" or murderers would be excluded from
the law. Justice Minister Almabeatriz Rengifo argued for the
measure on the grounds that Colombia currently has 42,000
inmates in prisons only designed to hold 28,000. The
prosecutor's office countered that it would be preferable to
build more prisons.

Many inside and outside Colombia saw the proposal as an
appeasement to drug traffickers and the politicians
convicted of taking money from them: Cali cartel leader
Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, captured in 1995 [see Update
#280] would be eligible for early release within two years
under the law. Opposition presidential candidate Noemi Sanin
said, "This is another example of the marriage between
politics and drug trafficking." Opposition congressperson
Ingrid Betancourt, one of four who voted against the
measure, said, "The government is looking to ingratiate
itself with the criminals who got President Samper elected.
All the lawmakers in prison, with just one exception, were
provincial leaders of Samper's campaign." Lawmakers who
would go free under the legislation include former attorney
general Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, former comptroller
Francisco Becerra--both convicted of illicit enrichment--and
ten former congresspeople. But Senate president Amilkar
Acosta told the Associated Press that the lower chamber
"isn't seeking an amnesty for the politicians... or the drug
traffickers. That's an exaggeration...." The Senate has not
yet voted on the measure. [ED-LP from AP 12/4/97; New York
Times 12/4/97]

The US State Department called on Colombia's Senate to
reject the measure, saying, "Such an initiative would be a
serious step backwards in Colombia's effort to reform its
judicial system and combat impunity. We urge the Colombian
senate to vote down this legislation, and the Colombian
government to bring its influence to bear on the Congress to
stop this bill in its tracks." The US government has
sanctioned the Colombian government for not following US
instructions on combating drug trafficking [see Update
#318]. [United Press International 12/4/97]