US missionary detained in Colombia on charges of collaborating with Farc rebels

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated press

US missionary detained in Colombia on charges of collaborating with Farc rebels

Martin Stendal, a Minnesota native, charged with supporting terrorism and collaborating with Colombia’s main leftist rebel group

Associated press in Bogota, Colombia
Thursday 19 February 2015 17.55 EST



A US missionary has been detained for alleged collaboration with Colombia’s main leftist rebel group, authorities said on Thursday.

Police Col Flavio Meza said Martin Stendal, a 59-year old native of Minnesota, surrendered on Wednesday night to face an arrest warrant charging him with supporting terrorism and collaborating with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel movement.

Police allege that Stendal, who lives in Colombia, traveled to Cuba and Panama as a messenger for the guerrillas.

Stendal says in a video posted online that he had been set up and that his trips into rebel territory to distribute Bibles and radios were only for ministering.

“Somebody set a trap for me, and I walked into it,” he said. “There was a secret order out for my arrest.”

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/19/us-missionary-detained-farc-rebels-colombia

[Judi Lynn]

1. Colombia Judge Frees US Missionary Arrested Over Alleged FARC Ties

Colombia Judge Frees US Missionary Arrested Over Alleged FARC Ties
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: February 20, 2015 11:30 IST

Bogota, Colombia: A Colombian judge on Thursday said there was not enough evidence to keep an American missionary jailed after he was arrested over suspected links to FARC leftist guerrillas.

Russell Martin Stendal, 59, a Christian missionary who is a longtime resident of Colombia, was detained Wednesday at police headquarters in Bogota. He turned himself in after learning of his arrest warrant.

Prosecutors said they had been investigating Stendal over suspicions that he provided logistical support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the main rebel group in Colombia's 50-year-old civil war. But a judge on Thursday ruled that the case against Stendal was not currently sufficient to warrant his detention, and ordered his release.

An official in the prosecutors office had earlier told AFP that Stendal helped set up secret stations to care for wounded and sick fighters, and a police report said he was accused of providing "electronic and communications" support to the group.

Local media said Stendal's lawyer Eder Castro said he was a dedicated missionary, not a criminal.

More:
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/colombia-judge-frees-us-missionary-arrested-over-alleged-farc-ties-740979