JEP condemns five former soldiers for crimes against humanity in Antioquia
Colombia's peace tribunal sentenced five former soldiers for the murder and disappearance of 35 civilians in Antioquia between 2002 and 2006.
Third JEP sentence for executions of civilians in north-western Colombia
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) condemned five former Colombian soldiers on Friday for the murder and disappearance of civilians falsely presented as guerrillas killed in combat, according to france24.com citing AFP.
It is the third sentence issued by the peace tribunal, established following the 2016 agreement with the now-defunct FARC guerrilla. The JEP does not impose conventional prison sentences: in exchange for truth, reparation and non-repetition, those responsible serve alternative sentences.
The five sentenced individuals acknowledged the murder and disappearance of 35 people between 2002 and 2006 in the Antioquia region. The sentence classifies the acts as "crimes against humanity, and homicide against a protected person, constituting a war crime". Among the victims are peasants, homeless people and minors.
As a restorative sanction, the convicted must participate in the search for disappeared persons and in humanitarian mine-clearance work. Their cooperation has already enabled the recovery of 77 bodies of victims of forced disappearance, according to the JEP.
Soldiers who inflated figures in exchange for decorations
During the bloodiest years of the Colombian armed conflict, thousands of young people—mostly poor and unemployed—were systematically killed as part of the military offensive against illegal organisations. Soldiers presented the bodies as enemy casualties in order to obtain benefits such as rest days or decorations, a practice known as "false positives".
Antioquia, a historical paramilitary stronghold, was the scene of massacres, murders and disappearances. Peasants there were stigmatised and accused of collaborating with the guerrilla. The tribunal documents, among other cases, that of Óscar Chaverra, deceivingly transferred from Medellín to the municipality of Dabeiba, where he was murdered. His family recovered his remains during the judicial process.
"Truth allowed us to know what happened. The aim of this sentence is to contribute to non-repetition, reconciliation and peace," said Diana Vega, vice-president of the JEP.
Esneda Altamirano, aunt of a victim falsely presented as a guerrilla, stated in a video shown during the reading of the verdict: "Peace does not consist of Colombia forgetting what happened, it consists of having the courage to acknowledge it".
The JEP currently faces political pressure: president Abelardo de la Espriella, of rightist tendency, promised in his campaign to eliminate the tribunal and is now pushing for budget cuts to it.
Source: Google News CO — Crime