Dr Beltran has endured two years in prison without conviction simply for [...]]]> UCU is delighted to announce that Dr Miguel Angel Beltran, the university professor imprisoned in Colombia since May 2009 was finally released this Tuesday 7th June, having been declared innocent of the spurious charges of ‘rebellion’ and ‘criminal conspiracy for terrorist purposes’.

Dr Beltran has endured two years in prison without conviction simply for publishing articles and research critical of the Colombian government.

Alongside our sister education unions around the world, UCU has fought hard to demand his release and to defend academic freedom. This fantastic news is a vindication of our efforts and a significant step forward in the struggle for human rights in Colombia.

Dr Beltran was met at the gates of La Picota prison in Bogota on Tuesday by around 200 supporters, including family, academic colleagues and former students. On hearing the verdict Dr Beltran said ‘The truth triumphed, critical thought is not terrorism. They were two difficult years’.

Thank you to every union and every academic, from over 20 countries worldwide, who took part in the campaign. Read more here:  http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2408 and here: http://justiceforcolombia.org/news/article/984/political-prisoner-professor-beltran-finally-absolved-of-all-charges

Signatories include the Nobel prize winner, Sir Richard Roberts and a host [...]]]> Thanks to everyone who has joined the call for the release of Dr Beltran from his imprisonment in Colombia. The University and College Union, together with Justice for Colombia has today submitted to President Santos a letter signed by more than 4000 academics.

Signatories include the Nobel prize winner, Sir Richard Roberts and a host of scholars with international reputations.

While most of the signatories are from the UK, the open letter attracted support from educators in more than 20 countries across the world, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

You can see the open letter submitted to President Santos here: http://educationsolidaritynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/4-May-Academics-Open-Letter-to-President-Santos.pdf

To view the complete list of signatories click here: https://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5474

In addition, Dr Beltran received invaluable support from other unions around the world, including the NTEU in Australia, who added their names to the open letter, the GEW in Germany and the NUT in the UK who both wrote letters of protest to the Colombian government. You can see the GEW’s letter here: http://educationsolidaritynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Carta-Thoene-a-Calderon.pdf

Thanks to all of you for your support. We will update you on any news regarding our colleague in Colombia as soon as we have it.

UCU.

Since our letter to the president, [...]]]> Colombia heard the voice of educators loud and clear last year when 1,000 UK academics wrote to the Colombian president calling for the release of Dr Miguel Beltran. Several unions on the Education Solidarity Network did the same, including the CAUT in Canada and the NTEU in Australia.

Since our letter to the president, Dr Beltran’s trial was postponed following several ireegularities including suspected manipulation of the evidence against him. However, it is due to start again on May 3^rd.

Dr Beltran has published research on the Colombian conflict and is an outspoken critic of the government. It appears that these actions are not tolerated in Colombia. He has been charged with “rebellion”, tortured, detained for 22 months and is currently held in a prison where 90% of the inmates are paramilitaries. He has been deprived of water and medical attention. We want to make a clear statement to President Santos and the people of Colombia that in a free, fair and democratic society, freedom of speech and expression are not optional. Those who avail themselves of such rights are not criminals, they should not be subject to detention, torture and imprisonment.  

TAKE ACTION: UCU is calling on academics across the globe to demand Dr Beltran’s release.

What you can do:

UCU has launched an open letter to President Santos. Academics can add their names by visiting: https://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5474

Alternatively, unions can send their own letters of protest to President Santos, using our letter as a template if they like. 

Please write to President Santos at : olgavallejo@presidencia.gov.co, or at the following postal address: Casa de Nariño, Carrera 8 No.7-26, Bogota, Colombia.

It is crucial that as many people contribute to this campaign as possible. Our last letter generated a significant amount of press coverage in Colombia including on the nation’s largest TV and radio stations. Please circulate this to your networks and encourage members to add their support.

UCU.

On 22nd May 2009 Dr Miguel Angel Beltrán Villegas, a Colombian academic studying in Mexico, was detained by the Mexican immigration authorities at the request of the Colombian Government. He was flown back to Bogota where, the following day, he was charged with the crimes [...]]]> Help ensure a fair trial for Dr Beltrán in Colombia

On 22nd May 2009 Dr Miguel Angel Beltrán Villegas, a Colombian academic studying in Mexico, was detained by the Mexican immigration authorities at the request of the Colombian Government. He was flown back to Bogota where, the following day, he was charged with the crimes of ‘rebellion’ and ‘criminal conspiracy for terrorist purposes’. He has been detained since then in a high security prison, without trial.

Dr Beltrán is an academic widely respected by both colleagues and students who have spoken out against his detention. Before his arrest, he was carrying out post doctorate research in Latin American Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He also has a Masters degree in Social Sciences from the same institution and another in History and Sociology from the National University of Colombia. Dr Beltrán has written academic papers on the armed conflict in Colombia, and it appears that he has been detained as a consequence of this.

UCU invited Dr Beltrán to address our annual congress in May, and we now understand that he is to stand trial in court proceedings starting on 12 April. We fear that there is a strong possibility that the trial will not be fair or transparent. General secretary Sally Hunt has written to UK foreign secretary David Miliband asking him to ensure a fair trial. We have also encouraged members to write letters using our web-campaigning facility. You can see Sally Hunt’s letter here (.pd)

You can see the model member’s letter here: www.ucu.org.uk/takeaction_drbeltran

For more about Dr Beltran, click here: www.justiceforcolombia.org/?link=3_0_2

Developed from an initiative led by the UK’s University and College Union, unions from North America, Europe, Australasia and Africa sign deals at an international [...]]]> Half a million academics from around the world have joined forces to create a series of new international agreements that will help safeguard academic standards at home and abroad.

Developed from an initiative led by the UK’s University and College Union, unions from North America, Europe, Australasia and Africa sign deals at an international conference – Challenging the global market in education – held at the Institute of Education in London. The agreements make specific references to protecting academic freedom and monitoring the work of private companies in higher education.

The unions are concerned at a growing international market in tertiary education that has seen universities in the UK, America, Australia and Canada open lucrative campuses in the Middle East and East Asia, and say they will use the agreements to hold institutions to account for their overseas ventures.

Signatories will report abuses like those at the Singapore campus of Australia’s James Cook University, where a lecturer was suspended and dragged before a court of law for wearing a pro-democracy t-shirt. The conference will commit unions to discouraging staff and the academic community from working and sharing research with institutions with bad overseas records.

The agreements will also allow the unions to share intelligence and work on joint campaigns against private companies who are looking to set up public-private partnerships with universities to recruit international students. The unions oppose the creation of a two-tier workforce in higher education and believe that in-house alternatives carry far less risk to the reputation, academic standards and financial well-being of universities. The private firm, INTO, for example, has been overwhelmingly rejected by staff at every UK university that has been polled on whether or not the institution should work with the company.

Building international solidarity: A multilateral international agreement to defend education against global marketisation