Colombia to Hold a Hearing on 296 Extrajudicial Murders

On Monday and Tuesday, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace of Colombia (JEP) will hold a hearing for former members of the Army's 16th Brigade who will admit their participation in 296 cases of murders of civilians ("false positives") that occurred between 2005 and 2008 in the department of Casanare.

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Previously, the JEP charged 22 members of the Army, an official from the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), and two civilians.

This week's hearings are part of the investigations carried out by the Truth Recognition Chamber on Case 03, in which 24 people involved will recognize war crimes and crimes against humanity which they are accused of.

Under the command of Major General Henry Torres, the artificial presentation of operational results increased in the department of Casare between 2005 and 2008.

Other senior officers linked to this process are Oscar Rey, Justo Peña, Oscar Gonzalez, Hernan Restrepo, and Luis Paredes. For the peace court, this week's hearings represent an opportunity to contribute to the satisfaction and dignity of the victims.

The 24 defendants must go from the written recognition given to the JEP to a public recognition of the crimes before the justice, the victims and society.

Regarding the false positives in the Casanare department, the JEP received versions from 104 appearing parties that are linked to the Case 03. A JEP team worked for seven months preparing the hearings, interacting with victims, and with appearing parties.

So far, 24 out of 26 defendants have accepted their responsibility for the crimes committed in Casanare, while the remaining two citizens will be investigated by the JEP's Investigation and Prosecution Unit.