2023-11-10 02:20:00
The former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe was denounced before an Argentine court for his alleged responsibility in more than 6,000 executions and forced disappearances of civilians committed between 2002 and 2008 that occurred during his government in the case known as “false positives”.
After meeting with relatives of the victims and complaining human rights organizations, federal judge Sebastián Ramos requested time to analyze the complaint and decide whether to open a criminal investigation, Colombian lawyer Daniela Rodríguez Sanabria told the AFP.
Our country recognizes the principle of “universal jurisdiction”, which establishes the judicial jurisdiction of States in cases against humanity regardless of the scene of the crimes or the nationality of the accused.
In July, Judge Ramos himself opened an investigation into a complaint of crimes against humanity against leaders of the Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela for the deaths caused by the repression of the 2014 opposition demonstrations.
Colombia: a new report revives the drama of “false positives”
The complaint against Uribe and the facts for which he is accused
The “false positives” are the worst scandal that Colombia’s military forces have faced in more than half a century of armed conflict.
The victims were taken under deception and false promises of work to other areas of the country where they were murdered and dressed in guerrilla clothing to present them as combat casualties, and obtain promotions and days of rest in exchange, the agency reported. AFP.
In confessions to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), some soldiers stated that they were pressured by their superiors and have even pointed out General Mario Montoya, head of the army between 2006 and 2008 and very close to Uribe.
The plaintiffs against the former president include relatives of four of a total of 6,112 deaths that the military forces They were registered until 2008 under the Uribe presidency (between 2002 and 2010) as “combat casualties.”
Colombia: a country caught between the violence of armed groups and police brutality
The complaint was accompanied by the Committee of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective and the Libertad Legal Corporation, the three organizations in Colombia.
The case was presented in Argentina “because universal jurisdiction applies in the country but also because we share a past of atrocities and we believed that there could be greater sensitivity to this search for justice,” said Rodríguez Sanabria.
“We are hopeful of a serious, agile and impartial investigation, which we did not have in Colombia,” added the lawyer, and assured that the evidence presented “demonstrates former President Uribe’s knowledge of the facts.”
The events are already recorded by the JEP, the mechanism created by the 2016 peace agreements between the Colombian State and the FARC guerrilla, but without jurisdiction to judge presidents and former presidents.
Bertina Badillo Herazoa relative of one of the victims included in the complaint, told AFP: “We believe that the Argentine justice system will respond. We have expectations. In Colombia, there is no peace due to the corruption of judges who have been friends of Uribe.”
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