The Colombian Constitutional Court upheld the right to conscientious objection, freedom of worship and religious freedom on 16 September in the case of Jhonatan David Vargas Becerra, who was forcibly inducted into the military in March 2014 and later arrested and imprisoned on charges of going absent without leave.
The Court has given the National Army 48 hours to free him.
On 16 March 2013, Jhonatan David Vargas Becerra, a member of the Foursquare Gospel Church, voluntarily presented himself at the 34th Battalion of Barrancabermeja to establish his military status. He made a verbal declaration of his status as a conscientious objector. Vargas Becerra explained to the military officials present that his religious convictions do not allow him to engage in violence or belong to armed groups, and on that basis, as provided for under the law, he declined obligatory military service.
The Court has given the National Army 48 hours to free him.
On 16 March 2013, Jhonatan David Vargas Becerra, a member of the Foursquare Gospel Church, voluntarily presented himself at the 34th Battalion of Barrancabermeja to establish his military status. He made a verbal declaration of his status as a conscientious objector. Vargas Becerra explained to the military officials present that his religious convictions do not allow him to engage in violence or belong to armed groups, and on that basis, as provided for under the law, he declined obligatory military service.
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