petitioner added that during one of the alleged victim’s various attempts to answer the prison, an unidentified
individual recognized her as the journalist who would do the interview, took her by force, and threatening her,
took her to a nearby house. According to the petitioner, Jineth Bedoya then heard other men approach who
verbally and physically attacked her. The petitioner stated that the men tied the alleged victims’ hands and
pushed her into an SUV. During the ride, Jineth Bedoya was the victim of sexual violence and suffered a number
of physical and verbal assaults, during which reference was constantly made to her status as a journalist. The
alleged victim also heard threats directed at other journalist colleagues. The petitioner stated that the
individuals communicated constantly with their boss by cell phone, keeping him informed about the operation.
According to the information provided, the journalist was kidnappened during 16 hours. According to the
information provided, the individuals then left her in an isolated place. Jineth Bedoya was able to get help from
a taxi, who transported her to an urgent care center in Catama. Agents with the Criminal Investigation and
Interpol Directorate (Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol, DIJIN) came and took her to a police
hospital so she could be cared for by staff physicians.
11.
The petitioner reported that during the kidnapping and in response to the journalist’s
disappearance, Jorge Cardona, the newspaper’s legal editor, filed a criminal complaint with Public Prosecutor
103 Gaula de Bogotá.
12.
The petitioner indicated that a month after the alleged facts took place, the alleged victim was
assigned a security detail. According to the petitioner, a communication device provided by the Ministry of the
Interior has been the only State support received by the alleged victim. The petitioner stated that it was the
newspaper that provided her with an armored car and a driver. However, in February of 2002, when the
journalist began working for the newspaper El Tiempo, the security detail was removed, as the authorities no
longer believed that the communicator faced significant risk. According to the petitioner, in May of 2003
received threats from unknown sources. On the initiative of the director of the National Police, she was once
again assigned a security detail.
13.
The petitioner stated that on several occasions, the security service provided by the State
posed an unnecessary risk to the journalist. For example, the petitioner stated that one of the police officers in
charge of guarding her was later arrested for crimes of theft and kidnapping and was accused of being part of
the “Los Calvos” criminal gang, which may have been responsible for the kidnapping, torture, and sexual assault
of Jineth Bedoya.
14.
The petitioner reported that Jineth Bedoya continued to exercise her profession as a
journalist and continued to receive threats. For example, the petitioner stated that on August 18, 2003, the
alleged victim was kidnapped again with her equipment in Puerto Alvora, this time by the FARC. She was
released after five days. The National Police remain in charge of the protection program until 2007 without the
participation of any other authority or agency. The petitioner added that on November 26, 2008, she filed a
disciplinary complaint with the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation against the military after she found
out through confidential sources within State security bodies that military officials had ordered her followed
and ordered that her mail and communication be intercepted.
15.
The petitioner stressed that at the time she filed her complaint with the IACHR, the
investigation of the events that took place in the year 2000 was only in its preliminary phases. She expressed
concern over the absence of real results and the lack of diligence and exhaustiveness that should characterize
every investigation according to international standards. She said that although the State was made aware of
the violation of Jineth Bedoya’s human rights in a timely fashion, it had not performed a serious investigation.
The petitioner stated that the approaches to the investigation were inconsistent, which is evident in the
excessive length of the investigation without conclusive results, the lack of a legal qualification for the sexual
violence that the victim experienced, the shallowness of the other theories proposed, the marginalization of
seemingly dedicated State agents, procedures that repeatedly revictimize the victim, denial of access to the
victim’s legal counsel, and denial of probative requests by Jineth Bedoya’s representatives. The petitioner
indicated that in response to the situation, on June 8, 2011, it asked the Office of the Attorney General of the
Nation to assign a new public prosecutor given that the one who had been in charge for more than 11 years