Colombia’s paramilitaries will walk out of prison guilt-free
Colombia’s paramilitaries will walk out of prison guilt-free
posted by Mimi Yagoub
Jan 29, 2014
“Without a sentence, no one is considered guilty. Those who have not been declared guilty must be declared innocent.” As Colombia approaches the other end of the Justice and Peace process, the lack of successful trials casts a shadow over a society obliged to watch some of the country’s worst human rights violators return to its streets without so much as an official condemnation.
The end of 2013 saw the release of the first paramilitary combatant to submit himself to the Justice and Peace process, a compromise made in 2005 between the Colombian state and illegal right-wing militias allowing for greatly reduced sentencing in exchange for peaceful disarmament and extensive testimony.
This coming year will most likely mean freedom for many more of those who decided to turn themselves in starting eight years ago, after watching their organizations assume joint responsibility for a broad swath of the widespread human rights violations committed in the recent history of Colombia’s longstanding armed conflict.
John Jairo Alvarez Manco, alias “El Mono,” of the Bananero bloc of the AUC – a now-defunct paramilitary umbrella organization – is the first of a host of imprisoned militants to request his promised freedom after serving the eight-year term mandated under the terms of the Justice and Peace program.
Also expected to be released in coming months are a number of major paramilitary leaders and widely feared criminals, the majority of whom never faced sentencing.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/colombias-paramilitaries-will-walk-prison-guilt-free/
