Linguistic loophole could allow Colombia military to become its own judge
Linguistic loophole could allow Colombia military to become its own judge
Nov 10, 2014 posted by Victoria McKenzie
Due to the sly wording of a constitutional reform bill in Colombia, thousands of human rights abuses allegedly committed by the military could be tried by the same military accused of crimes, an opposition lawmaker warned on Monday.
MORE: Colombia Senate approves controversial military justice reform in spite of UN objections
The proposed bill would allow military courts to oversee humanitarian crimes allegedly committed by members of the security forces “except in the cases of genocide, forced disappearance, forced displacement, kidnapping, sexual violence, extrajudicial executions, and torture.”
However, the language of the bill could allow many of these crimes to be passed into the military’s hands, particularly in cases of extrajudicial killings or “false positives,” as they are called in Colombia.
Here is where the potential problem lies: while the proposal states that the military would not oversee “extrajudicial executions,” such a crime does not exist in the Colombian justice system. Those found guilty of killing civilians and later claiming they were rebels have been charged with homicide, and sentenced up to 40 years in prison.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/colombia-military-courts-might-oversee-crimes-humanity/