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Jorge Molano, a Colombian Human Rights Lawyer, was awarded the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2015. Peace Brigades International (PBI) has provided protective accompaniment in different stages of his life as a lawyer and human rights defender since August 2009. Representing victims in some of the most emblematic human rights cases in Colombia, Jorge has worked as a lawyer and human rights defender for a number of organizations. He has received death threats and has been the subject of ongoing surveillance and harassment. One of the cases where Jorge is seeking justice is for the massacre committed against the San José de Apartadó Peace Community in February 2005, when paramilitaries on patrol with soldiers of the 17th Brigade of the Colombian army murdered five adults and three children. Due to the risk he faces Jorge Molano has been given protective measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The jury who have awarded the prize stated that: “Jorge Molano (is) a lawyer who is standing out for his decennia long commitment to those who are not accepting the suppression by the often criminal and violent powers that be. By awarding Molano the jury wants to applaud his immense personal courage and stamina and draw attention to the largely overlooked dire human rights situation in Colombia”. Jorge Molano was presented with the award on May 29, 2015 in Amsterdam. |
