[ad_1]
When reviewing an appeal against a 2013 sentence, with which a court convicted 8 former members of the M-19 for aggravated homicide for the deaths during the taking of the Palace of Justice in November 1985, the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá He refused to link the case to the ex-guerrilla ex-guerrilla.
(Also read: In tribute, Cortes listen to victims 35 years after taking the Palace)
One of the civil parties in the process (the family of Captain Héctor Aníbal Talero Cruz, who died in the events in the Palace) it asked to annul the process and the ruling to bind the “intellectual authors of those facts“.
That is, to the leadership of the ex-guerrilla group made up of: Antonio José Navarro Wolff, Germán Rojas Niño, José Otty Patiño Ormanza, Vera Grave Leovenhrerz, Libardo Parra Vargas, Israel Santamaría Rendón, Rósemberg Pabón Pabón, Jesús Arjaid Artunduaga Rodríguez, Éver Bustamante García , Rafael Arteaga Giraldo, José Yamel Riaño, Remberto Artunduaga Palomares, Gerardo Ardila Serrano, Rafael Ernesto Vergara Navarro, Augusto Erazo Murcia, Eduardo Chávez López, Jaime Bermeo Cruz, Alix María Salazar Salazar, Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, María Otero Cifuentes, Fabio Alejandro Mariño Vargas, Amelia Sossa Sierra, Rafael Jaime Navarro Wolff, Blanca Inés Chavarro Rozo and Guillermo Elvencio Ruiz Gómez.
The captain’s family also asked that the sentence be not only for murder as a crime against humanity but for knockout homicide, defenseless murder, attempted homicide, kidnapping, arson and acts of ferocity and barbarism, conspiracy to commit crimes and terrorism; and that both the intellectual and material authors pay each of the victims 1,000 minimum monthly wages, and apologize to the country.
(You may be interested in: Palace of Justice: 35 years of search for justice and missing persons)
By virtue of Law 77 of 1989, the leadership of the ex-guerrilla was pardoned for political crimes, for which at the time they were separated from this process, but for these victims the judge of first instance “He pardoned the unpardonable” since, according to them, things such as homicide could not be treated as crimes related to politicians out of combat, among others.
In addition, they said that the crimes committed in this case against members of the Public Force should also be declared against humanity, and not only those of civilians.
In this regard, in the first place, the Court considered that the action could not be annulled since the decisions to cease the criminal proceedings against various members of the M-19 are enforceable and are res judicata and are therefore final and immutable.
Regarding the non-consideration of the deaths of members of the Public Force as crimes against humanity, the Court recalled that domestic legislation, in accordance with international legislation, gives this classification to an attack against the civilian population, with a general or systematic character, and with knowledge of the attack. For this reason, the events at the Palace of Justice were classified, in general, as against humanity, considering it an attack directed specifically against civilians.
(Also: Former M-19 members deny Escobar’s interference in taking over the Palace)
“Under this panorama, it clearly emerges that the members of the M-19 group did not direct their attack against the Military Forces, since the confrontation with them occurred on the occasion of the position assumed by the government, so obviously before the irruption of the Army and the National Police there was an armed confrontation, which led to the death of several members of the aforementioned institutions, which cannot be considered as crimes against humanity, but typical of combat ”, says the sentence.
Faced with the issue of people being sentenced not only for homicide but for other crimes, the Criminal Chamber explained that by virtue of the principle of consistency, someone cannot be convicted of something that was not charged, and that in this case, the accused were not charged with kidnapping, arson and acts of ferocity and barbarism, conspiracy to commit a crime and terrorism.
They also said that since the acquittal of the defendants for the deaths of members of the Public Force was confirmed, it was not appropriate to rule on the compensation requested by their next of kin, who could also only act for themselves and not on behalf of all the other victims of taking and retaking the Palace of Justice.
Other Justice notes that may interest you:
-‘Yidispolítica ‘and chuzadas: among the cases that are reopened in the Court
-The ‘stratum 5’ pyramid that captured more than 7 million dollars
-This is the manual that JEP launched for the participation of victims
JUSTICE
On twitter: @JusticiaET
[email protected]
[ad_2]
