In a situation that was reported as irregular, the National Police captured a woman who was participating in an activity related to the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI). The apprehended was identified as 19-year-old Stefania Maldonado Vergara, who is an audiovisual producer for the 13th commune of Medellín.
According to witnesses of the capture, the young woman was at a party held at the Selina Hotel, located in Calle Larga, in the historic center of Cartagena, when around 1:25 a.m. on March 21 the police arrived at the establishment and unjustifiably took her away.
Seeing the situation, several attendees tried to prevent the capture, but failed to do so. Videos show how people tried to make a human chain to stop the police patrol and motorcycles where the young woman was going. However, the authorities did not stop and ended up scaring away those who opposed the situation.
Two of the Ficci attendees, who are lawyers and human rights activists, defended Maldonado. It has been said that the authorities initially allowed the girl to receive assistance, but subsequently blocked the passage of the women defenders.
Likewise, the authorities indicated that if the young woman was transferred to the Polícia station, the case could be resolved quickly, but once she was there, she was not even allowed to be seen by her relatives. It was even reported that Maldonado was transferred to the Canapé Prosecutor's Office.
Until noon on Monday, nothing is known about how the case is progressing or the possible causes for the capture of the young woman. On social networks, Ficci participants continue to question the authorities and through the hashtag #LibereAStefania they ask the filmmaker to go free.
Likewise, there are those who call for a review of police abuses and how to prosecute women. They say that the special protocol was not followed, which violates Maldonado's rights.
It should be noted that in January, the international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) submitted an annual report in which it denounced the Duque government's lack of commitment to abide by the recommendations on reforming the National Police, in order to avoid further abuse on its part. The document recalls the bleak panorama that the country experienced between the end of April and June 2021, when 25 people were killed by police action.
“Police committed serious human rights violations in response to largely peaceful protests that took place in Colombia between late April and mid-June 2021. Human Rights Watch found evidence linking the police to 25 murders of protesters and bystanders, most often with lethal ammunition,” the document reads.
The international entity also noted that, despite the allegations, evidence and suggestions, the Government “has not yet taken significant steps to reform its police force”; nor has “a legal framework that contributes to justice being done for these human rights violations”.
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