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Bogota, Colombia- Alejandro Gaitan, a Colombian city about 280 kilometers (173 miles) west of Bogota, the capital of Armenia, wakes up to a strange noise outside his home and the sound of heavy boots. Moments later, five police officers rushed into the front door.
After the search, they began to read the arrest warrant. The 22-year-old philosophy student was wanted for “terrorism” and attempted murder, as well as six other criminal charges. He faces more than 40 years in prison.
“I have a cool head, which helped me complete my job as a spokesperson [for the protesters],” Gaitan told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview at home a few weeks after his arrest on June 18. “But when I was in that cell, I used all my strength to try not to feel sad or trapped. , Because the situation I am facing is indeed very bleak. “
Gaitan was surprised by the arrest warrant. He had led peaceful demonstrations and cultural activities during the Colombian administration. The recent national strike against deep-rooted inequalityHe spent 10 days in prison before the judge ordered his release. The case is still under investigation.
But what caught him most by surprise was Gatan said that he was accused of belonging to Primera Linea, a loose protest group that is increasingly being attacked by President Ivan Duque and his right-wing party Democracy Center.
“The attorney general’s office does not seem to be conducting an in-depth investigation,” said Gaitan, who denied all the allegations against him, “but they caught the most high-profile people in the protests like me.”
front
In late April, as Colombia began mass protests In tax reforms that have since been cancelled, young people from working-class backgrounds armed themselves with stones and temporary shields to protect protesters from police. They are called Primera Linea, or Frontline.
As the protests progressed, they played a more prominent role, splitting public opinion, setting up roadblocks, clashed with the police almost every night, and negotiated demands with local officials.
In Cali, the third largest city in the country, Primera Linea The protesters set up a blockade and controlled several blocks that the police did not enter.Art classes, political debates and Democratic parliament A routine event that becomes these “resistance points.”
However, according to the authorities, as the demonstrations dissipated, mass suppression of these demonstrators ensued, and at least 178 people were arrested. Many people face various criminal charges, including “terrorism”, which may keep them detained for decades.
The authorities attribute most of the vandalism and crime that occurred during the Primera Linea protests to this statement, which has been used to defend the wave of arrests.
On July 20, Medellin, Colombia, demonstrators protesting against the government of Colombian President Ivan Duque clashed with riot police [Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP]But critics say investigators use the campaign as a scapegoat to weaken its influence. Although some believe that innocent protesters may be wiped out in the operation against the organization, others believe that a thorough persecution campaign is underway.
Ruben Acosta, a lawyer for Primera Linea Juridica, a national lawyer network representing protesters, said: “We are concerned that young people who exercise their right to protest are being arrested in large numbers. This is a policy that criminalizes social mobilization. a part of.” .
“The government is looking for an enemy that allows them to move at will. They found that enemy in Primera Linea,” Acosta told Al Jazeera.
“Low Intensity Terrorism”
According to members of the loose group, Primera Linea appeared in response to police violence. In June, Human Rights Watch stated that Colombia The police committed “serious” abuse During the generally peaceful demonstrations.
But Secretary of Defense Diego Morano accused Primera Linea of numerous acts of violence and vandalism, including the burning of buses and businesses, which he classified as “low-intensity terrorism.” Francisco Barbosa, the Attorney General responsible for investigating Primera Linea, called them “a group of thugs who want to harm the country.”
The authorities have also repeatedly stated that the funding for the Primera Linea organization comes from left-wing insurgents, such as dissidents from the National Liberation Army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Peace agreement with the government in 2016.
Molano denied allegations that the police had arrested Primera Linea protesters indiscriminately. “As far as Primera Linea is concerned, it is clear that some people protest, some commit crimes and criminal activities that can be classified as terrorist acts… We have started investigating, prosecuting and arresting them, and this is against them,” Morano Said in an interview with a local radio station last month.
The largest wave of arrests of protesters occurred a few days after the demonstrations on Colombia’s Independence Day on July 20, when Primera Linea protesters planned to gather in Bogotá. According to the authorities, as of July 26, a total of 134 protesters in 18 cities had been arrested.
Morano recently tweeted: “No one will always get away with criminals or robbers.” “We hold the Constitution, bear the burden of the law, and face the vandalism of the’Primera Linea’.”
The Colombian National Police refused the interview request and instead instructed Al Jazeera to participate in a press conference on August 5. At the meeting, the National Police Director General Luis Vargas told reporters that 10 more operations were carried out after July 20. .
Vargas said that these actions resulted in the arrest of 56 Primera Linea members who were charged with vandalism, torture, terrorism and other crimes.
Try to “silence”
One of the most high-profile arrests was the detention of five protesters in Bogotá on July 30, including the famous Primera Linea spokesperson, Sergio Andres Pastor. Called “19”).
The authorities accused the protesters of kidnapping and assaulting two civilians, and prosecutors said they mistakenly thought they were police officers. These allegations — conspiracy and torture — were quickly rejected by the defendant, the family of the priest and other protesters who took to the streets to support the pastor.
Sebastian Sanabria, a Bogota activist and former Primera Linea member, said Pastor is an advocate for dialogue and often does not wear a mask in meetings with the local government. He said these arrests were meant to weaken his leadership.
“Since they are [Primera Linea] Spokespersons who have the ability to create change, they blame them for keeping them silent,” he said.
On May 28, during the protests in Bogotá, demonstrators gathered at the Monument to the Heroes of Los [File: Santiago Mesa/Reuters]A few weeks after the national strike, the Primera Linea groups in Colombia’s cities began negotiations with local officials to reduce confrontation-even if the president disagreed, he told a local radio station that the radio station “talking to people with hidden identities” violated. The democratic values of the country.
Some of the primary requirements that protesters sought in these meetings were guarantees for the safety of Primera Linea members, including protecting them from prosecution and police violence. Before the wave of arrests began, some local officials made promises in this regard.
But the arrest of Pastor and dozens of other Primera Linea protesters has sowed the seeds of distrust, even as the government promised to distinguish between violent and peaceful members of the organization.
For Sanabria, the arrest disrupted months of dialogue and progress. “People are asking themselves,’What will happen to us? Will we be persecuted like our friends?'” he said. “There is a lot of mistrust and frustration.”
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