It has been almost two years since Julián Gil – then technical secretary of the social movement People’s Congress – was imprisoned. His arrest on 6 June 2018 sent shock waves across social activists, and human rights defenders who organised solidarity protest chanting – Being a social leader is not a crime! The case of Julián Gil manifests the revival of the Colombian state strategy to silence social leaders by accusing them of connections to armed insurgent groups. The Attorney General Office accused Julián of indirect participation in warfare as a member of the ELN insurgency; the prosecution’s case against Julián rests exclusively on the testimony of one person and reportedly does not have material evidence.