Colombia’s Military Tribunal coordinator Colonel Edgar Emilio Avila,
denied Tuesday that he had ties to paramilitaries in Northwest of
Colombia and that these links are being investigated by the Prosecution.
Opposition Senator Gustavo Petro claimed Monday that Avila is under investigation for possible ties to demobilized paramilitary organization AUC.
The colonel described the accusations of Petro as “disgraceful” and denied any links to paramilitaries.
The Polo Democratico senator also said that Avila, without any
explanation, has replaced 30 percent of the Military Tribunal
officials who are in charge of a number of pending trials against members of
the military.
According to the Military Tribunal coordinator, he only replaced 14.9 percent of the officials and these changes “strictly and exclusively serve the necessities and improvement of the Military tribunal’s administrative service.”
Defense Minister and Armed Forces
commander Freddy Padilla Monday said he regretted the personnel changes within the
military justice system and that he never was informed.
