US Government Stalls on Visa for Colombian Activist

New York – Human Rights First has chosen Colombian activist Gabriel Gonzalez as the 2009 recipient of its prestigious human rights award. The award will be presented at a gala ceremony in New York on October 22, but instead of being part of the celebration in New York, Gonzalez may be thousands of miles away. His visa is being held up by the U.S. government, apparently because of false charges lodged against him by the Colombian authorities despite U.S. agreement that those charges amount to nothing.