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Colombia: Special court indicts 10 soldiers for killing 120 civilians

Special court of Colombia released charges Tuesday against 10 members of the armed forces and one civilian in the cases of enforced disappearances of 24 people and murders of 120 of civilians who falsely presented themselves as guerrillas who had fallen in battle. This is the first time that the special court – officially the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP), was set up as part of the peace process with the former FARC and is responsible for the most serious crimes committed during the civil conflict – accuses members of the army in the context of the scandal which has become known in Colombia as false positives (“False positives”, ie results), reports APE.

The court revealed in February that at least 6,402 civilians were killed and presented as guerrillas by the military, who wanted to secure various rewards, medals, honorary leave, etc., in the period from 2002 to 2008. This is three times the number mentioned by the Colombian prosecutor’s office until then. Victims’ organizations consider the actual number of victims to be even heavier. The defendants played a crucial role in the 120 civilians killed in the Catatumbo district of Norte de Santander province between January 2007 and August 2008, presenting the victims as guerrillas to show the hierarchy that they were bringing results, the court stressed.

The accused, who according to the special court gave orders without which these crimes could not be systematically committed, are a general, six permanent officers, three reserve officers and a citizen. For the judiciary Catalina Dias, these cases are framed in a “macro-crime” context, in other words the “recurrence of at least 120 murders in two years in the same area by the same group of people who belonged to a criminal organization and followed the same course of action”.

Among the victims were farmers and peddlers, among others, said Ms. Dias. Dozens of army officers arrested and convicted in connection with the scandal have testified in a special court, hoping to be more lenient. If the military and the civilian charged with these charges do not plead guilty within 30 days, the case could be referred to the criminal courts, where they would face up to 20 years in prison, he said. Judge Eduardo Sifuentes, member of the special court.

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