The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Having before it the case of Mr. Alvaro Araújo Castro, a former member of the Colombian Congress, which has been the subject of a study and report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians following the Procedure for the treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of communications concerning violations of the human rights of members of parliament,

Taking note of the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which contains a detailed outline of the case (CL/186/12(b)-R.1); and having before it the written report of the on-site mission to Colombia carried out from 22 to 24 August 2009 (CL/186/12(b)-R.2) for the purpose of raising the Committee's concerns in this and the other Colombian cases and of gaining a better understanding of the political and legal environment in Colombia in which they are situated; also having before it the analysis of the legal expert, Mr. Alejandro Salinas, who was mandated by the Committee to examine the question of respect for the right to fair trial in the case of Mr. Araújo,

Considering the following with respect to the judicial proceedings against Mr. Araújo:

• On 15 February2007, the Supreme Court issued detention orders for Mr. Araújo and five other members of Congress from the departments of César and Magdalena in connection with accusations of aggravated criminal conspiracy and electoral coercion; the other five were convicted on the grounds of their own confessions, telephone calls with or between paramilitaries and an analysis of voting results; Mr. Araújo asserted that there was no proof against him and that his case should have been separated from that of the others; Mr. Araújo was initially also charged with taking part in an aggravated abduction for the purpose of extortion, which charge was later dismissed;

• On 27 March 2007, as the only way of ensuring that his case would be treated individually, Mr. Araújo relinquished his seat in Congress, as a result of which his case was transferred to the ordinary judicial system, under which he is investigated by the Prosecutor's Office and tried by an ordinary court with the possibility of appeal; as a consequence, on 18 April 2007, the Supreme Court declared itself incompetent to continue examining his case, whereupon the file was transferred to the Delegated Prosecution Service;

• The investigation was completed on 18 July 2007 and, on 22 August 2007, Mr. Araújo was formally charged; during the trial, the Attorney General (Procuraduría) emphasized that there was no documentary evidence connecting Mr. Araújo Castro with the paramilitary in his department and asked that he be declared innocent; during a hearing held in early May 2009, the Prosecutor's Office asked the second specialized judge of Bogotá to convict Mr. Araújo for criminal conspiracy and electoral fraud, given that, even though he did not take part in military operations and was not a member of a paramilitary organization, his political affiliations did in fact boost his election chances during the time the paramilitary held sway in César;

• Only on 15 July 2009, despite very strict legal deadlines, was Mr. Araújo given the opportunity to present his defence; on 23 July 2009, having exhausted all the procedural stages in the case and completed the public hearing, the Fifth Court of the Bogotá Specialized Circuit resolved to lodge the file for the passing of judgment, for which it had 15 days; however, on 1 September 2009, the Supreme Court decided that the cases of congressmen under investigation who had given up their seats should be examined by it alone; the titular magistrate of the Fifth Court of the Specialized Circuit, Dr. Patricia Ladino Gaitán, decided on 15 September 2009 to return the file to the Supreme Court, which by resolution of that same day reaffirmed jurisdiction over Mr. Araújo's case, stating inter alia in its resolution that there were zones (in Magdalena and César) in which the population was under threat to support particular political candidates, as evidenced by the high percentages obtained by political paramilitary tickets, such as in the case of Senator Araújo; the decision was appealed against by the defence counsel before the Criminal Cassation Division of the Supreme Court, and for its part the Attorney General (Procurador) sought annulment of the action of the Fifth Court magistrate; the Supreme Court, by resolution of 1 October 2009, refused the application for annulment and, on 21 October 2009, decided not to admit the application lodged by Mr. Araújo for his defence pleadings to be heard in that court by a titular magistrate, the Court arguing that that procedural opportunity had already been exhausted in the Fifth Court of the Specialized Circuit;

• On 18 March 2010, the Supreme Court found Mr. Araújo guilty, without offering him an opportunity to be heard, and sentenced him to a prison term of nine years and four months and a fine of 7,222.15 Colombian monthly wages; the Court considered Mr. Araújo to be part of the hierarchy of the paramilitary group in his department and instructed the Prosecutor's Office to investigate him in this respect; the Court also decided to investigate the Prosecutor who had previously dismissed the kidnapping case against Mr. Araújo, considering that she had not taken due account of all the evidence; the source fears that by seeking action against the Prosecutor, the Supreme Court will have the possibility, if and when that Prosecutor is held criminally liable, to revive the abduction charge,

Considering that, following two strokes suffered in 2007, Mr. Araújo had to be urgently taken from La Picota prison, where he was being held, to a clinic in Bogotá; on 22 November 2007, the Prosecutor's Office changed his detention to house arrest for health reasons; Mr. Araújo was immediately transferred back to La Picota after his conviction on 18 March 2010,

Taking into account the communication from the President of the Supreme Court, dated 9 December 2009, in which he stressed that the proceedings against members of Congress were constitutionally and legally sanctioned, but did not provide any detailed observations on each of the concerns raised in this respect,

1. Is deeply concerned that Mr. Araújo was found guilty as a result of a trial which ran counter to basic principles of due process; fully endorses the detailed findings in this respect of the legal expert mandated by the Committee, and cannot share the views expressed by the President of the Supreme Court regarding the fairness of the proceedings;

2. Is therefore particularly concerned that Mr. Araújo cannot challenge the judgment on appeal, all the more so as his conviction appears to rely mainly on testimonies of demobilized paramilitary leaders and hypotheses regarding his election results and paramilitary activity and movements in the department of César; is concerned that Mr. Araújo may yet again be submitted to the same flawed procedure as a result of the new investigation whose initiation the Supreme Court has instructed; is furthermore concerned that the Prosecutor who dismissed the kidnapping charge may now herself be investigated; would appreciate receiving information on the legal basis for this step; also wishes to ascertain the facts supporting the reported criminal investigations of Mr. Araújo's relatives;

3. Affirms that several of the serious concerns about respect for fair-trial guarantees in this case are inherent in the current procedure applicable to members of Congress in Colombia in criminal cases and, therefore, have ramifications far beyond the situation of Mr. Araújo;

4. Calls on the Colombian authorities, in particular the new Colombian Congress, to take action with a view to overhauling this procedure so as to ensure its full compatibility with fundamental fair-trial standards, including the right to appeal and non-discrimination towards members of parliament; affirms the continued readiness of the IPU to help advance the public debate in Colombia on this complex and sensitive matter;

5. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent Colombian authorities and to the source;

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 123rd IPU Assembly (October 2010).

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