Columbia

Commenting on the most recent disclosure that the Colombian secret service DAS  (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad) tried to influence the EP's Human Rights Committee with illegal measures, Heidi Hautala, President of the Sub-Committee for Human Rights of the European Parliament and  Green MEP Barbara Lochbihler, Member of the Sub-Committee, said:

"The Columbian government has to reveal how its secret service acted against NGOs and politicians in order to influence and discredit decisions taken by the Human Rights Committee of the European Parliament and other institutions. What is lying behind the expressions "defamation" and "sabotage"? Is there a list of Members of the European Parliament who are registered as supporters and opponents of the Columbian government?

There are plans to sign EU's free trade agreement with Colombia during the EU-Latin-America Summit on May 18. This agreement should not be signed until this scandal is completely addressed and measures taken to ensure that no such activity can take place again."