As Colombian protests dissipate, activists hit by wave of arrests

Colombia’s Primera Linea protesters accuse authorities of using arrests, prosecutions to weaken the push for change.

Bogota, Colombia – Alejandro Gaitan awoke to the sounds of strange voices and heavy boots outside his home in the Colombian city of Armenia, about 280km (173 miles) west of the capital Bogota. Moments later, five police officers burst through the front door. After conducting a search, they proceeded to read out a warrant for the arrest of the 22-year-old philosophy student, who was wanted for “terrorism” and attempted homicide, along with six other criminal charges. He faced more than 40 years in prison. “I have a calm head that has helped me carry out my work as a spokesperson [for the protesters],” Gaitan told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview from his home, weeks after his June 18 arrest. “But when I was in that cell, it took all my strength to try to not feel bad, to not feel trapped, because the situation I faced truly was very bleak.”