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Amnesty International has condemned the kidnapping and killing of Luis Francisco Cueacute;llar Carvajal, Governor of the Colombian department of Caquetaacute; in the south of the country.br /
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Luis Francisco Cueacute;llarrsquo;s body was found yesterday in rural Caquetaacute;, a day after he was kidnapped. Colombian authorities have blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for the kidnapping and killing but the group has not claimed responsibility.br /
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ldquo;The Colombian authorities must ensure that those responsible for the kidnapping and killing of Governor Cueacute;llar are brought to justice,rdquo; said Marcelo Pollack, Colombia researcher at Amnesty International.br /
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Hundreds of civilians remain kidnapped across Colombia by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).br /
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ldquo;Civilians in Colombia should not be forced to be part of this conflict,rdquo; said Marcelo Pollack. ldquo;We strongly urge all guerrilla groups to release those kidnapped and for the government to investigate all human rights abuses being committed in the country.rdquo;

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AMR/colombia-farc-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/The invaluable work carried out by human rights defenders in Colombia must be respected by all the parties to the armed conflict, Amnesty International said following Saturdayrsquo;s attempt on the life of human rights activist Islena Rey in Puerto Rico Municipality, Meta Department.br /
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Islena Rey, President of the Meta Human Rights Civic Committee, was travelling by boat along the Guejar river when embers of the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reportedly opened fire, seriously injuring her. br /
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The other members of her group, including Miguel Martiacute;nez from the Association of Peasant Farmers from the Bajo Ariari (AGROGUEJAR) and human rights lawyer Daniel Piedrahita, emerged unharmed. br /
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ldquo;The attempt on the life of Islena Rey is a tragic and all too common demonstration of the precarious situation still facing human rights defenders in Colombia,rdquo; said Marcelo Pollack, Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s researcher on Colombia.br /
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ldquo;Hundreds of activists are still the target of threats and killings at the hands of all the parties to the conflict; be they the security forces, paramilitaries or guerrilla groups. No one us providing them with effective protection,rdquo; said Marcelo Pollack.br /
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Amnesty International has condemned this latest attack on a human rights defender and calls on the FARC, and on all the parties to the conflict, to respect the right of the civilian population not to be dragged into Colombiarsquo;s long-running armed conflict.br /
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Amnesty International has called on the Colombian authorities to investigate the attack against Islena Rey and her companions and to bring those responsible to justice. br /
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The organization has also called on the authorities to provide effective guarantees to ensure the safety of human rights defenders and other social and community activists.br /