Attacks on the family of man killed in extrajudicial execution

27.10.11

October 26, 2011

By MOVICE
Translated by IPO

The National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE) denounces the serious attacks against the family members of EDER VERBEL ROCHA, the victims of which include a child who required two stitches. These acts occurred only seven months after Eder’s assassination, and are part of the systematic persecution of the Verbel family, the Sucre chapter of MOVICE, and members of almost all of the 20 chapters of MOVICE.

Antecedents
The Verbel family is known for its leading role in exposing paramilitary activity in the department of Sucre. As a result of their efforts, they have been victims of assassinations, threats, forced displacement, and constant attacks. On March 23, 2011, Eder Verbel was murdered by two armed men who shot him and two family members without warning. Orlando Verbel Rocha and a child survived were able to escape. Two men are being held in connection with this attack and are presumed to be the murderers, but there is still nothing known about who ordered the attack.

The facts
On Sunday, October 23, the conservative party’s mayoral candidate Nelson Jesús Pineda was holding his campaign’s closing ceremony. He is supported by the current mayor, Edgar Benito Revollo. During the ceremony, two men passed by the house of Yolima Fontalvo, Verbel’s widow. They began to yell intimidating insults at her, in addition to throwing water. A similar scene occurred outside of Adolfo Verbel’s house.

At 6:45 PM, Eder and Adolfo’s parents Hernando Verbel Vuelvas and Cristina Rocha Donado returned to their house, whereupon the two men continued to shout insults and even threw bottles at the house. Eder Verbel’s child, Eder de Jesús Verbel Fontalvo, was waiting at the entrance to the house, and was hit in the knee by one of the bottles and taken to the hospital. The next morning Adolfo Verbel, the child’s uncle, went to the SIJIN (Special Police) Office to report the crime. He was received by an Agent Lopez, who said that without the names of the aggressors he could not take a report. In the end the child received two stitches for the wound he received from the bottle.

We demand:
-That all the proper actions be taken to protect the Verbel family and members of MOVICE Sucre.
-The the District Attorney perform a criminal investigation of the attacks against the Verbel family and members of MOVICE Sucre in order to bring those responsible to trial.
-That the Public Ministry require that the state’s public servants comply with their mandate, and that any action or omission on their part be investigated as a violation of human rights.

The National Movement of Victims of State Crimes

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