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A new report advanced by forensic experts of international stature has concluded that the deaths that occurred after a riot at the La Modelo prison on last March 21 they were intentional.
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The report was advanced by the Group of independent forensic experts (IFEG) and the International Council on Rehabilitation for Victims of Torture (IRCT) at the request of the American organization Human rights observer.
The incident, in which 24 inmates died (the official figure of the Colombian authorities is 23 deaths) and 107 other people were injured, was unleashed when the guards responded with fire to a riot in the prison where the prisoners demanded adequate conditions to prevent the spread of covid-19 in prisons in the country. But according to the government, it was an escape attempt instigated by criminal groups.
According to experts, says HRW, “most of the gunshot wounds described in autopsy reports are consistent with being inflicted with intent to kill.”
They also assured that “the autopsy reports do not register any indication of gunshot wounds that have been carried out solely for the purpose of injuring people, rather than killing them.”
The evaluation is based on the 24 autopsy reports issued the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Colombia.
Most of the gunshot wounds described in necropsy reports are consistent with being inflicted with intent to kill
The Ministry of Justice said at the time that there was a coordinated and criminal plan for the massive escape of prisoners in several prisons in the country.
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“This new report, based on official documentation, indicates that the deaths of the La Modelo detainees were allegedly intentional. However, so far there have been no significant advances in the criminal investigation into this case. The authorities of the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation have the obligation to carry out timely, impartial and exhaustive investigations, and guarantee that those responsible for excessive and unjustified use of lethal force are accountable for their actions ”, he says Jose Miguel Vivanco, Director for the Americas at HRW.
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According to the US organization, the IFEG is an international body made up of by 42 leading independent forensic specialists from 23 countries that are recognized as world leaders in the medical-legal investigation of torture, ill-treatment and illegal executions. The IRCT, for its part, is the world’s leading research center on the physical and psychological effects of torture and ill-treatment and is made up of 158 rehabilitation centers in 74 countries.
Autopsies, experts say, also describe recent, non-fatal injuries “Produced approximately at the time of death that were not related to the gunshot wounds”. But they could not specify, given the precarious information provided by Legal Medicine, if the prisoners suffered torture or mistreatment.
HRW states that the 24 autopsy reports examined by international experts They did not attach photographs, sketches, ballistics analysis, or information from investigations at the scene.
According to HRW, that same March 22, the then Minister of Justice, Margarita Cabello, said that the deaths occurred while the guards prevented an escape plan.
Something that the Attorney General Francisco Barbosa reiterated in April when he indicated that after the escape attempt there were the Eln and the FARC dissidents.
But the US organization affirms that in August it met with Barbosa and he told them that his entity had not charged any person in relation to these events and that his prosecutors were promoting three different lines of investigation into the instigation of the riots, the deaths and injuries, and whether prison guards had used excessive force.
This new report, based on official documentation, indicates that the deaths of the La Modelo detainees were allegedly intentional.
The families of the inmates asked that the conditions in which their loved ones live in the penitentiary be reviewed.
Nestor Gomez. TIME
“As of November 13, no charges had yet been filed in relation to the deaths or injuries, according to prosecutor authorities. The Prosecutor’s Office told Human Rights Watch that prosecutors had interviewed 300 of the more than 4,900 detainees who would have been witnesses to what happened, and clarified that there was “no laziness or slowness” in the investigations. The statement suggests that the Attorney General’s Office plans to interview almost all the people detained at La Modelo, ”says HRW.
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They argue, in turn, that Cabello should declare herself prevented from investigating the case now that she has been appointed as Prosecutor and due to a potential conflict of interest.
“Safeguards must be in place to ensure that when Cabello assumes her new role as Attorney General, the investigation into the deaths in La Modelo should be carried out independently and exhaustively in order to identify those who may have committed crimes ”, adds the organization.
According to HRW, international law not only protects the right to life and security, but also requires states to be more responsible when it comes to people in their custody. And they mention UN guidelines that provide that firearms can only be used when it is strictly unavoidable to protect one’s life or that of third parties or to prevent the escape of a person who represents a serious threat.
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“It is one thing to prevent detainees from escaping and quite another to carry out extrajudicial executions of detainees.. The Colombian authorities have the obligation to guarantee a serious and effective investigation to determine what happened in La Modelo, ”says Vivanco.
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SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
WASHINGTON
