Protecting the protectors: a case from Colombia

Technology Pill

This week we're speaking to Claudia Duque an Human Rights Defender and journalist for over 25 years, reported on crimes occurred during armed conflict and Emi, a Colombian lawyer defending press freedom. Claudia has been subjected to death threats, and was given official protection by the Colombian Government, including an armoured car. However, that protection was used to surveil her, including through a GPS tracker installed in the car without her knowledge.

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Links

The organisation who put us in touch with Claudia is called Media Defence, they are an international human rights organisation which provides legal defence to journalists, citizen journalists and independent media around the world who are under threat for their reporting. Find out more about them and their work: https://www.mediadefence.org/

You can also read more about Claudia, her work, and the cases she's taken forward on Media Defence's website:

https://www.mediadefence.org/news/hope-and-resilience-claudia-duque/

Claudia's case against the former Administrative Department of Security: https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/after-more-than-20-years-court-confirms-responsibility-of-the-colombian-state-in-violating-human-rights-of-journalist-claudia-julieta-duque/

More about Claudia: https://www.mediadefence.org/news/hope-and-resilience-claudia-duque/

If you're a climate activist fearing surveillance, these tips might be handy: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5000/how-avoid-social-media-monitoring-guide-climate-activists

For more detail on the surveillance experiences faced by human rights defenders, read: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/being-target

To read more about GPS technology, visit: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/4796/electronic-monitoring-using-gps-tags-tech-primer