VEN INFO OFF sets record straight on those erroneous reports that lINTERPOL confirms COL claims

[magbana]

VIO Venezuela News and Action

Dear Friends,

Today, INTERPOL released its forensic report on the contents of hard drives allegedly seized by the Colombian military from the FARC camp it bombed in Ecuador on March 1st. The U.S. media has taking the report completely out of context. Although INTERPOL did not gauge the accuracy of the information on the hard drives, the press is using it to accuse Venezuela of supporting terrorism.

INTERPOL's report DOES NOT back up the Colombian government's attacks on Venezuela

The report clearly states: "the scope of INTERPOL's computer forensic examination was limited to (a) determining the actual data contained in the eight seized FARC computer exhibits, (b) verifying whether the user files had been modified in any way on or after 1 March 2008, and (c) determining whether Colombian law enforcement authorities had handled and examined the eight seized FARC computer exhibits in conformity with internationally recognized principles."

INTERPOL's stated intention "was not to evaluate the accuracy or the source of the exhibits' content." Therefore, the investigation "did not include the analysis of the content of documents, folders or other material on the eight seized FARC computer exhibits."

Read the press release about the report
Read the complete report

MISINFORMING THE PUBLIC
It is important to understand that in the U.S., the contents of the laptops have been strategically released to the press by Colombian officials to build a case against Venezuela. This fact was seen in today's article by Juan Forero in the Washington Post, which includes the allegation that Venezuela would have helped the FARC acquire missiles.

The fact is that INTERPOL'S forensic examination of the laptops found no evidence that they had been altered after March 1st, but did not determine their accuracy or source. Media accounts have nonetheless taken the Colombian officials at their word, while assigning guilt to Venezuela despite a lack of proof.

For more information on Venezuela's efforts against terrorism, please read the VIO factsheet

TAKE ACTION:
Contact your local newspapers and your Congressional Representative today and tell them that INTERPOL's forensic examination does not condemn Venezuela as State sponsored of terrorism nor validates accusations made by the government of Colombia.

For further questions, please contact the VIO Team! at [e-mail]

[Bacchus39]

1. Interpol: Colombia has real rebel data

"We are absolutely certain that the computer exhibits that our experts examined came from a FARC terrorist camp," said Interpol's secretary general, Ronald Noble, adding: "No one can ever question whether or not the Colombian government tampered with the seized FARC computers."

Venezuela's embassy in Washington accused U.S. and Colombian officials of using the Interpol report to "spread the most reckless and irresponsible accusations" in a coordinated campaign that "closely resembles the steps usually taken by the Bush administration in order to generate ... instability and wars in other countries."

But Interpol was emphatic that the documents are authentic, and said the computers were found in metal cases that protected them during the raid.

"Mr. Reyes is now dead. But they were definitely his computers, his disks, his hardware," Noble said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/colombia_rebel_computers;_ylt=Am3ow.Xvwsun.q5md6uOMQm3IxIF

[magbana]

2. Read the actual report and then have a laugh with BoRev

The Interpol Report

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2008/pdfPR200817/Default.asp

Read the actual report. Its says nothing about the content of any of the files whatsoever.


BOREV notes that there were two days when Colombia handled the computers and did not use "internationally recognized principles in the handling of electronic evidence . . . '

"Other key findings confirm that the Colombian Judicial Police computer forensic experts followed internationally recognized principles in the handling of electronic evidence from the time they received the exhibits on 3 March 2008. However, between 1 and 3 March, direct access to the seized computer exhibits by Colombia's first responder anti-terrorist unit in order to view and download their contents did not follow internationally recognized principles in the handling of electronic evidence under ordinary circumstances. INTERPOL's experts verified that this direct access and downloading had no effect on the content of any of the user files on the eight seized computer exhibits.

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2008/PR200817.asp

http://snipurl.com/291ub
BOREV (make sure to go to the blog itself to pick up hotlinks and the great graphics)

"LAPTOP DAY"

Sigh. We'll be updating until we get bored.

>>> AP: "Interpol will report Thursday that Colombia did not tamper with computers it says it seized during an attack on a leftist rebel camp." Duh.

>>> 2:15 p.m. Interpol SecGen: "There was no tampering with or altering of any of the data contained in the user files by any of the Colombian law enforcement authorities following their seizure on March 1."

>>> 2:30 p.m. "But Interpol head Ronald Noble said the report did not seek to verify the validity of charges against Venezuela."

>>> 2:40 p.m. Wow Interpol is efficient! From their press release, the amount of data they sorted through is equal "to 39.5 million filled pages in Microsoft Word and, if all of the seized data were in Word format, it would take more than 1,000 years to read at a rate of 100 pages per day." It seemed so much shorter than that!

>>> 2:45 p.m. Also from the press release. In handling the computers, the Colombians followed all the international protocols, except for two days, when they didn't.

http://www.borev.net/2008/05/expect_the_expected.html

[Bacchus39]

3. right!!, like Colombia isn't going to see what's in the computers

any intelligence agency would do so you know. and Colombia didn't have to deliver the computers and files to INTERPOL now did they?

[magbana]

4. Two articles from Telesur . . .

for you Spanish speakers:

http://www.telesurtv.net/noticias/secciones/nota/index.php?ckl=27897-NN

http://www.telesurtv.net/noticias/secciones/nota/index.php?ckl=27876-NN