Ex-congressman denies involvement in Segovia massacre
Ex-congressman denies involvement in Segovia massacre
Monday, 30 January 2012 17:49
Miriam Wells
Cesar Perez, former president of Colombia's House of Representatives, pleaded not guilty Monday to taking part in the massacre of 43 civilians, reported newspaper El Tiempo.
Perez is being tried for conspiring to slaughter people in Segovia, Antioquia, who were gunned down in November 1988 in one of Colombia's first paramilitary massacres.
According to the accusation, he financed the paramilitary incursion after Patriotic Union (UP) candidate Rita Ivone Tobon beat him in the town's mayoral race.
The UP was a political party founded by the FARC and Colombia's Communist Party following 1985 peace negotiations, which was decimated by assassinations of its members and violent attacks.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/21875-ex-congressman-denies-involvement-in-segovia-massacre.html