November 18,
1999
Dear President Banzer:
We are writing to express
our concern regarding the illegal arrest and detention on November 10,
1999, of Leonilda Zurita, the executive director of the Tropico Federation
of Bolivia, on her return from the United States. Having collaborated
with Zurita during her recent visit to Washington, we encourage you to
ensure that Zurita, other activists, and all Bolivians receive the full
human rights protections granted in Bolivia under its own legal system
and international treaties it has signed.
In the United States, Zurita
was collaborating this month with a wide range of U.S. non-governmental
organizations in Washington, DC to raise awareness of economic conditions,
human rights violations and the negative impact of U.S. international drug
control policy. Upon her return November 10, she was arrested by
police waiting for her at the Cochabamba airport with an arrest warrant
dating from February.
Her arrest was based on a
case in which she and several other union leaders were charged with causing
damage to property in the amount of $38. While we are not in a position
to judge the merits of the original case, we find her recent detention
troubling for several reasons. The timing of her arrest suggests
that it was politically motivated and linked to her activities in the United
States. Jailing her for 24 hours was a harsh response to a relatively
minor charge, and was illegal under Bolivian law. The warrant for
her arrest only gave the police the right to take her to make a statement,
not to lock her up for 24 hours. In any case, the legality of the
warrant is questionable because the documentation failed to specify the
charge against her. Additionally, Zurita easily obtained an exit
visa for her trip to the United States though exit visas are seldom granted
to individuals with pending legal problems. A police officer at the
Sacaba Police Station informed the Andean Information Network, based in
Cochabamba, that the arrest was based on orders from authorities.
These facts suggest her arrest may actually have been prompted by her political
activity in the United States where her speech and conduct are protected
by law.
We are greatly alarmed by
the detention of Leonilda Zurita in violation of her basic rights and urge
you to guarantee strict adherence to Bolivian legal procedures in her case.
We urge you to express respect for freedom of speech and other basic human
rights in Bolivia by assuring that these proceedings are not a reprisal
for Zurita's political views.
Thank you for your attention
to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Eric E. Sterling, Esq., President
The Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation
Coletta Youngers, Senior
Associate
Washington Office on Latin
America
Martin Jelsma, Coordinator
Drugs & Democracy Programme,
Transnational Institute
David Borden, Executive Director
Drug Reform Coordination
Network
Barbara Gerlach and Cristina
Espinel, Co-Chairs
Colombia Human Rights Committee
Grahame Russell, Director
Rights Action/Guatemala
Partners
Sanho Tree, Director of Drug
Policy Project
Institute for Policy Studies
Robert A. White, President
Center for International
Policy
Michael S. Gelacek, Esq.,
Vice-Chairman and Commissioner
U.S. Sentencing Commission,
1990-1998
Frank Smyth
Freelance Journalist
Harry Belafonte
Entertainer
Danny Glover
Entertainer
Reverend Bernard Keels
United Methodist Church,
Baltimore, Maryland
cc:
Ambassador Peter Romero,
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary
of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
General Barry McCaffrey,
Director of Office of National Drug Control Policy
Ambassador Marcelo Perez
Monasterios, Bolivian Ambassador to the United States
Honorable Walter Guteiras,
Vice Minister of Human Rights
Dr. Edgar Moreno, Minister
of Justice
Honorable Gerardo Rosado,
President of the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies
