Freed Captive Wants Colombia to Pay

Posted on Jul 10, 2010

Wikimedia Commons

After spending six years as a hostage in Colombia, politician Ingrid Betancourt, who was rescued from her rebel captors in 2008, has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Colombian state for “emotional stress and loss of earnings.” —JCL

Reuters:

Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who spent six years as a rebel hostage before being rescued, has sued the Andean nation over her kidnapping, sparking outrage from the government that freed her.

The suit seeks $6.8 million in damages from the state for emotional stress and loss of earnings while she was being held in secret jungle camps by Marxist guerrillas.

But Colombia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday Betancourt had no reason to blame the government for her kidnapping by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) while she campaigned for the presidency in 2002.

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