Dear President Obama,

I write to you with deep gratitude and respect, as someone who served on your staff as field organizer for Western Massachusetts during your last campaign, an experience I will never forget. I understand that on Thursday, February 4th, you met with current and former Presidents of Colombia to celebrate the success of Plan Colombia and the country's impending emergence from civil war.

I am writing at this time to bring to your attention a situation that is very personal and close to me, but one that touches on the need for Colombia to reach further towards solutions for corruption and injustice. While Plan Colombia has been particularly important militarily, there are serious human rights violations in Colombia that are not being addressed.

Please allow me to briefly tell you the story of Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, a 44-year-old, Boston-born, Harvard graduate who you may remember through Simon Rosenberg's New Democrat Network. I have known Kaleil since he was a baby, and have been close friends with his parents since. Kaleil, a dual citizen of the United States and Colombia, comes from humble beginnings, descending on both sides from immigrants (Colombian on one side, Polish on the other), and put himself through school with scholarships and part-time work. He worked for years at Goldman Sachs and since 1999 has founded and run multiple technology companies, creating thousands of jobs. He has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of an advisory committee on Hispanic affairs to the Obama White House, and a long-time promoter of U.S.-Colombia relations (including joining President Clinton and Colombian President Pastrana in the announcement of Plan Colombia in 2000).

Sadly, Kaleil (who is a resident of New York) was arrested while on business in Colombia on September 7, 2015, pursuant to a U.S. provisional arrest warrant obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York for financial activities associated with an Internet technology business he had brought public on the NASDAQ many years earlier. Kaleil, who is an observant Jew, planned to be in the United States only days after his arrest in Colombia to celebrate the Rosh Hashanah holiday with his family. He was in no way, shape or form a fugitive from the criminal justice system of any country; nor had he ever been asked to come in and discuss the matter with the U.S. Attorney's Office (as would normally be the case). His arrest took him completely by surprise. Since the beginning of his ordeal, he has just wanted an opportunity to defend his innocence in court and clear his name. Instead, he remains to this day in a legal state of "limbo," and has lived a personal nightmare which should put both countries to shame.

After spending 8 days in a filthy municipal police holding pen in Bogotá (where he was exposed to the elements 16 hours per day and quickly became ill), on September 15th Kaleil was transferred to La Picota--a notorious maximum security facility in Bogotá known as one of the most dangerous penitentiaries in the world, and where some of Colombia's most violent offenders are jailed. Kaleil was held for months in the prison's ninth-floor bunker, an isolated section of the prison that is reserved for prisoners subject to extradition proceedings--men who are mostly identified as high-level drug traffickers and cartel members, paramilitary chiefs, assassins and narco-terrorists, and are wanted by the U.S. government. In La Picota, Kaleil (who did not know a soul upon arriving there and was perceived by inmates and the prison guards as being a "wealthy" target for extortion due to the U.S. Attorney's Office's sensational press release on his "capture") was extorted and threatened from day one, and ended up being brutally assaulted.

While at La Picota, Kaleil initiated a formal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Letter Awaiting Extradition (part of the Organization of American States), which was signed by over 150 other inmates awaiting extradition and trial. The complaint addresses the horrendous conditions at La Picota, including lack of running water, lack of access to natural light and the outdoors, abominable hygiene, lack of adequate medical care, strip searches, institutional corruption, intentional denial of legal rights, etc. With Kaleil's help on the inside, the Miami Herald published a front-page investigative piece on widespread abuse of the U.S.-Colombian extradition process (including DEA and FBI intimidation, interviews without counsel present, absence of Miranda Rights reading, etc.): Hard Times: U.S. Extradition System Strands Detainees Abroad

In mid-November, Kaleil's lawyers filed a motion in federal court to dismiss the arrest warrant that served as the basis for Kaleil's provisional detention in Colombia, so that Kaleil could voluntarily surrender to U.S. authorities in Colombia and expedite his return to the United States. In court filings, Kaleil's lawyers (including former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh) begged the U.S. government to allow for Kaleil's release from Colombian prison and concomitant surrender to the U.S. Embassy, so he might answer the charges against him. Judge Paul Gardephe of the Southern District of New York held a hearing on Kaleil's motion on November 20, 2015. During the hearing, Judge Gardephe stated: "[E]very citizen should be confident in the belief that when they are suffering in the manner that Mr. Tuzman is currently suffering, their government should take whatever steps that are feasible, reasonable, to relieve that suffering." Nov. 20, 2015 Hr'g Tr. 52:7-10. He also acknowledged that, "the circumstances are highly unusual, and extraordinary circumstances demand creative solutions." Hr'g Tr. 26:24-25.

Nevertheless, Judge Gardephe ultimately ruled that the district court's hands were tied and it had "no authority" to issue "an order directing the United States to cease its efforts to obtain Tuzman's extradition from Colombia" in favor of voluntary surrender. United States v. Tuzman, No. S1 15 Cr. 536 (PGG) (S.D.N.Y. Dec 30, 2015), Dkt. 43 at 6,7.

Since the hearing before Judge Gardephe, the only change that has occurred is Kaleil's transfer to an even higher security jail at the Colombian Attorney General's office, called the "Bunker,"--where Kaleil is held mostly in solitary confinement, in an isolation area with no natural light and bright fluorescent lights on 24 hours a day. It is unclear whether Kaleil was moved to this facility to keep him safer or to keep him muzzled, but either way he is suffering profound detrimental effects, both physical and psychological, from his confinement. Also, since Kaleil has spoken up about the horrific conditions and the abuse he suffered in La Picota, he fears retribution by the Colombian government in general, and the Colombian bureau of prisons ("INPEC") in particular.

Kaleil's extradition process could take many more months; meanwhile, all of his loved ones fear for his physical and psychological well-being. It appears obvious that using the extradition process (and all that it entails) was not necessary in this case, putting a U.S. citizen--who is not a fugitive and represents no danger to society--unnecessarily in danger, and probably scarring him for life.

The good news in this story is that two weeks ago, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights officially accepted Kaleil's case, representing the first time ever that it has taken a case regarding the Colombian prison system and one of the first cases overall regarding Latin American prisons. The Commission has given the Colombian government a fixed time-frame to respond--a period which just recently elapsed in silence.

Kaleil's inner strength and leadership qualities are bringing human indignities to light--both in the U.S.-Colombian extradition process and in Colombian prison conditions--even as he possibly endangers himself by speaking out. That is the kind of person he is. While his primary concern is to return to the United States to clear his name and be with his family, he will not forget all that he has seen that is so wrong and wants to prevent it from happening to others.

President Obama, you have met with President Santos and former President Pastrana (both of whom have met Kaleil personally and know him to be a man of integrity and a ceaseless campaigner for tighter U.S.-Colombian relations). If there is anything you can do in the context of your relationship with the Colombian government to help protect U.S. citizen Kaleil Isaza Tuzman from further harm and bring greater common sense and justice to bear on the pre-trial extradition process, it would be a gift to many--including many others who have suffered like Kaleil in ways that we as Americans know is just not right. If he really cannot be brought home right away, one idea suggested by Kaleil's family would be to have him put under house arrest in Colombia while awaiting the rest of the extradition process. This would be consistent with a "bail" scenario for white collar charges in the United States and this way he would be able to get proper psychological and medical care, and be less likely to be subject to reprisals by INPEC.

Thank you for reading these words. Kaleil is like a son to me. You can imagine, I'm sure, the pain of parents in a situation like this. Please do what you can. With deepest appreciation and blessings to you,

Susan Olshuff

#safetyforkaleil

February 4, 2016

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