Education International has launched an urgent action appeal in support of jailed Colombian academic and unionist Miguel Ángel Beltrán.
Education International (EI) is calling on the government and judicial authorities of the Republic of Colombia to authorise his immediate release. EI is also urging the authorities to review urgently the judicial case against Beltrán, a former Professor at the National University of Colombia.
Call for support
“Colombian authorities must guarantee Dr Beltrán’s life, security and constitutional rights, as well as his immediate release,” said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. “We call on our member organisations to mobilise their membership, contact their governments and request that they intercede with the Colombian authorities for Beltrán’s immediate release.”
Union member
A member of the higher education union, the Asociación Sindical de Profesores Universitarios, Beltrán is an outspoken critic of the Colombian government and has dedicated much of his research to conflict and turmoil within the country.
He was arrested in July, 2015, and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in a high-security prison in Bogota on charges of rebellion and conspiracy. Recently, he went on a hunger strike to demand a fair review of his case and improvement in the detention conditions for himself and other prisoners.
You can act in solidarity with Beltrán by signing the LabourStart petition here