They create the first legal line to defend protesters in the National Strike

The National Strike celebrates a month of social uprising, a time in which new expressions of support and organization have emerged among protesters and sympathizers of the social cause that called the protest.

As the ‘first line’ of defense of the protesters in the confrontation with the public force, A first legal line emerged, at the initiative of lawyers, that intends to bring together lawyers in different cities to provide advice to cases of arrests and violence denounced by protesters in the midst of the National Strike.

According to the Ministry of Defense, since last April 28, when the demonstrations began, 1,141 people have been “caught in flagrante delicto”, 58 by court order and 59 arrests of minors have been carried out.

The idea of ​​forming this group came from the lawyer Augusto Ocampo, who among other causes has defended Daniel Mendoza, creator of Matarife. According to him, the group was created to distort those captures “in flagrante delicto” that do not constitute the legal requirements for such a category.

He, together with Miguel Ángel del Río, assure that the first line is not to defend vandals or criminals, but to those people who have been captured when they were demonstrating peacefully in the National Strike.

Through social networks they promoted a registration form to form a group of lawyers throughout the country that will make up the First Legal Line and who will be called, according to the city and the situations that arise.

More than 800 people signed up and would be the ones who, through advice and defense, would seek to help those who are detained in peaceful demonstrations.

Additionally, the lawyers will also look for pedagogical spaces so that the protesters know the capture procedures and legal rights, in order to avoid being captured, as well as establish dialogue with the police to avoid arbitrariness.

The first legal victory for this group of lawyers would be the liberation of the musician from Cali Álvaro Herrera Melo, 25, who would have been captured by Esmad agents. after a symphonic cacerolazo in the city that was held in commemoration of the first month of the National Strike.

After being presented before a judge, the defense of Herrera Melo, the lawyer Sebastián Caballero, announced after the hearing that the judge declared the capture illegal, so the musician was released.

“What is most courageous in this effort and what fills us with strength is the accompaniment of each one of you who has put the soul for these causes unemployment continues and indisputably Today we are facing a total breakdown of the constitutional order and before that we have to continue fighting ”, said the lawyer.

“The First Legal Line complies with Colombia. In LIBERTAD our young musician Álvaro Herrera Melo. VERY SERIOUS there was torture, the judge declared the capture illegal. We will proceed against the uniformed ”, added Augusto Ocampo.

According to Ocampo, the judge determined that there were no legal requirements of flagrante delicto for the capture of 11 people on May 28, as well as there was no correlation of the vandalism with those captured. There was also no immediate timeline regarding the presentation of those captured who would have been locked up in a private vehicle.

“All the country’s lawyers united in the front line. Our profession is our strength to face the overflow of power. On the street and wherever they need us in defense of youth and their rights. Thank you, ”said lawyer Miguel Ángel del Río. The idea of ​​Ocampo is to offer help in the field and they continue to summon more professionals for that purpose.

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