Lawsuit filed against Colombian granted Panamanian asylum

A Colombian lawyer traveled to Panama Tuesday (November 24) to file a lawsuit against the former director of the Department of Administrative Security (DAS) of Colombia, Maria del Pilar Hurtado.

Hurtado has been granted asylum in Panama, raising strong protests from Colombian officials and human rights groups claiming that Panama was giving sanctuary to a persecutor rather than the persecuted.

The suit was presented  to the Public Ministry by lawyer Luis Guillermo Pérez, representing the Colombian human rights NGO, Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo.
Pérez said the complaint was filed in a personal capacity, but his document refers to the people affected by the "persecution" set up by Hurtado, accused in Colombia of intercepting telephone conversations of Court judges, journalists, and opposition leaders.
The lawyer says Colombia has demonstrated that there was "political persecution" and serious human rights violations.
In Colombia a final verdict is awaited from the justice system on the espionage accusations against the former security chief. {jathumbnail off}