Colombia’s public prosecution announced Tuesday to indict 231 former paramilitary and guerrilla commanders for a total of 11,000 human rights violations.
Charged paramilitary leaders
Charged rebel leaders
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Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre said on his office’s website that “we have taken one of the most important decisions in the history of the Justice and Peace process [that created the legal framework for the demobilization of paramilitary umbrella organization AUC] and the framework of transitional justice.”
According to the prosecutor general, 231 suspects, some of them top commanders of rebel group FARC and now-defunct paramilitary group AUC, will be charged with crimes committed during the ongoing armed conflict.
“Among the facts are the most serious cases they perpetrated during the armed conflict. Episodes like the massacres of El Salado, Chengue, Macayepo, El Naya, Curumangui and others,” Montealegre added.
The human rights violations, including forced displacement, forced disappearance and sex crimes have been bundled in 16 major criminal cases involving multiple suspects and as many as 30,000 victims.
The suspect with most pending charges is former AUC leader Salvatore Mancuso who faces 766 charges of forced displacement, 731 of forced disappearance, 128 sex crimes and the illegal recruitment of 505 children.
All suspects initially agreed to demobilize under the Justice and Peace law that allowed the suspects to receive legal benefits and a maximum sentence of eight years in prison in exchange of their cooperation with justice and reparation of victims.
Sources
- Priorización: en 16 macroinvestigaciones aparecen los responsables de las Farc y los paramilitares (Prosecutor General’s Office)
