 According to the respected Jesuit human rights defender, Padre Javier Giraldo, between August 2002 and August 2004 there were 6332 arbitrary detentions.Shortcomings in legal processes have been reported in cases concerning trade unionists, community activists, academics, and other groups and individuals who, whilst seeking the advancement of rights in their relevant spheres, may oppose certain elements of state policy.According to both Colombian and international organisations, the response from the state has often been in the form of illegal criminal proceedings.Such characteristics led Human Rights First, in a report looking into the prosecution process in cases brought against human rights defenders, to conclude that ‘corruption and failure to abide by national and international due process standards are endemic to the criminal justice system in Colombia’.