Mr. Uribe to criminal activity on the grounds that he provides legal assistance to criminal defendants. The report states that Mr. Uribe is "dedicated to having bandits held in various jails declared 'political prisoners.'" 63. In its 2002 annual report the Commission expressed its concern about the situation of several human rights organizations whose members are beneficiaries of precautionary measures and that, although the measures ordered remained in effect, they were still targets of threats and harassment.59 The Commission identified CCAJAR among those organizations.60 64. In its 2004 annual report the Commission mentioned that high-level government officials continued to question the legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders.61 In its 2004 annual report the IACHR said: The IACHR is also concerned by the repeated official accusations (señalamientos) directed against the well-known public interest human rights law office Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo,” a petitioner in individual cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for more than a decade, and beneficiary of the measures of protection granted by reason of the constant threats against and attacks on the lawyers and other legal staff who work there. Among the incidents in 2004, special mention should be made of President Uribe’s speech to the European Union on February 10, 2004, in which he stated that this organization “uses the issue of human rights as an excuse to provide cover for terrorists”; the insinuations by the departmental authorities of Cesar –in the context of follow-up meetings to the provisional measures issued on behalf of the Kankuamo indigenous people—to the effect that the organization was a “guerrilla supporter” (“alcahuete de la guerrilla”); and the characterization of the Colectivo de Abogados –a co-petitioner in a claim before the Administrative Tribunal of Cundinamarca against the program to eradicate illegal crops using the herbicide glyphosate — as “traditional defenders of the FARC” on the web site of the respondent before that court, the National Narcotics Control Bureau (Dirección Nacional de Estupefacientes).62 Representatives of all branches of the State have repeatedly made generic accusations (señalamientos) directed at the Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo” as well as other human rights organizations. The IACHR must repeat once against that the words of the President of the Republic may be considered by illegal groups as an accusation that not only increases the risks human rights defenders face, but could also suggest that the acts of violence aimed at hushing them somehow enjoy the acquiescence of the Government. The Constitutional Court has expressed in this same sense in a recent decision and has emphasized the importance that the authorities and in special Head of State abstain to emit declarations that generate risks for the life of these people.63 65. The Commission was also made aware of alleged threats against CCAJAR. In that connection, on February 16, 2004, six days after the statements by then-President of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe Vélez before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, CCAJAR received an email that said the following: There are also very clear indications of excessive interest in the José Alvear Lawyers' Collective at top levels and in organizations of the kind mentioned, which have done their utmost, fighting tooth and nail to defend these ne'er-do-wells. ... [S]oon we will be sending IACHR, 2002 Annual Report, March 7, 2003, par. 57. Available at: http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2002eng/chap.4.htm#COLOMBIA IACHR, 2002 Annual Report, March 7, 2003, par. 57. Available at: http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2002eng/chap.4.htm#COLOMBIA 61 IACHR, 2004 Annual Report, February 23, 2005, par. 32. Available at: http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2004eng/chap.4.htm#COLOMBIA 62 IACHR, 2004 Annual Report, February 23, 2005, par. 37. Available at: http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2004eng/chap.4.htm#COLOMBIA 63 IACHR, 2004 Annual Report, February 23, 2005, par. 38. Available at: http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2004eng/chap.4.htm#COLOMBIA 59 60 13