On July 4, 2013, FOR accompanied the Colombian Association of Conscientious Objectors, ACOOC, during the release of Juan Carlos Poveda Camaro from the army base in Villavicencio, where he had been held, as a declared conscientious objector, for 45 days.

Villavicencio, Colombia — Juan Carlos waits anxiously outside the army base, gazing beyond the chaos of the newly recruited soldiers surrounding him. In black jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt, he stands quietly apart from them; he is one of the few without military fatigues. Recruited in an illegal street round-up and held for 45 days without seeing his family, today he will finally go home. read more…