A State of Impunity in Colombia: Extrajudicial Executions Continue, Injustice Prevails

Central Findings
There is a 98.5% impunity rate on extrajudicial execution cases reported to the Colombian Attorney-Generals Human Rights Unit. Numerous cases of alleged extrajudicial executions have been reported since the Soacha scandal. Compensation is still paid for captured or killed members of the illegally armed groups, thus creating incentives for extrajudicial executions. There are 215 cases of alleged extrajudicial executions that are still being disputed between the military justice system and the AttorneyGenerals Human Rights Unit. Former Commander of the Colombian Army, Mario Montoya, has been nominated Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, despite his deeply troubling human rights record.

xtrajudicial executions continue to be reported throughout Colombia, while impunity rates for this deeply troubling crime remain alarmingly high. The US Government has provided considerable funding for the Colombian Attorney-Generals office (AG), including for the AGs Human Rights Unit which is in charge of cases of extrajudicial executions. While it is very important to support Colombias judicial and oversight agencies, it is crucial that this support be subject to careful scrutiny and that it produces concrete results. Results are especially needed in cases of alleged extrajudicial executions, where there is a 98.5 per cent impunity rate, or cases in which no conviction has resulted between 2002 and April 2009.1

Three months ago the US Office on Colombia (USOC) and its partners published a report2 for the US Congress and Administration highlighting the existence of cash incentives offered by the Colombian military to civilians who provided information leading to the capture or killing of members of the illegally armed groups. The report also highlighted the troubling human rights record of the new Commander of the Army. These issues have still not been addressed. Meanwhile, rather than support the civil society groups helping the victims quest for information and justice in these cases, the Colombian President and Defense Minister have
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publicly accused these groups of inflating the statistics in order to discredit the Colombian Army and President Uribes Democratic Security policy. These comments, documented on page 6 of this report, only serve to endanger the lives of those doing this important work and add to a general lack of freedom of expression in Colombia. The Colombian Government has confirmed that the Defense Ministerial Directive 029 of 2005, which establishes a system in which Army personnel make payments to civilians for information leading to the killing or capture of alleged members of the illegal armed groups, remains in force. Colombian government officials claim that the Directive does not create incentives for extrajudicial executions; the Colombian Attorney-General, however, has asserted otherwise: Couldnt you say that the rush for results and the urge for the reward is generating these grave events, Attorney-General Mario Iguarn-Arana.3 Furthermore, annual statistics of cases of extrajudicial executions show a significant jump in cases from 2005 when the Directive was established. Prior to 2005 the highest number of annual cases was 102, which was reported in 2004, in 2006 that number was 222 and in 2007 it rose to 453.4 Colombian human rights organizations believe that similar secret ministerial directives which may create incentives for extrajudicial executions have been released since the 029 directive of 2005. In our February 2009 report on extrajudicial executions we detailed our concerns at the appointment of General Oscar Gonzlez Pea as the Commander in Chief of the Colombian Army. General Gonzlez Pea commanded the Fourth Brigade in the Department of Antioquia during a time when the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights singled out the Brigade for an increase in alleged violations of human rights and humanitarian law these included extrajudicial executions, torture, collusion with paramilitaries and sexual abuse. Our request for an investigation to be carried out into these alleged cases

that occurred under General Gonzlez Peas watch has yet to be met. Meanwhile, his predecessor, General Mario Montoya, who is alleged to have collaborated extensively with paramilitary groups and to have jointly planned and conducted several military operations which resulted in countless civilian deaths, has been nominated Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. During his command of the Fourth Brigade numerous cases of alleged extrajudicial executions and other crimes committed by members of the brigade were reported. Furthermore, he is alleged to have promoted a body count mentality, telling his troops that he wanted stadiums full of dead bodies.5 It appears these crimes will remain in impunity.

Progress to Date
It must be acknowledged that the Colombian government has taken some positive initial steps to address this heinous crime. In the wake of the Soacha scandal, the Colombian authorities took preliminary steps by firing 40 army officers, including 3 generals. These actions are welcome, as are steps that the Colombian government took earlier, in large part due to pressure by the U.S. Congress and State Department. These include transferring many cases from the military to the civilian justice system; the Attorney Generals creation of a special sub-unit to investigate these cases; and the Defense Ministrys issuance of directives intended to minimize the practice. However, sackings without prosecutions hold little value and directives to minimize this crime will be ineffective whilst the Defense Ministerial Directive 029 and any other similar directives continue in practice. Furthermore, there are still 215 cases of alleged extrajudicial executions that are being disputed between the military justice system and the AGs human rights unit as there is disagreement as to who has jurisdiction over these cases. A final decision of where the cases will be heard will be made by the Supreme Council of Justice.

While the Soacha killings were undeniably blatant and obscene, my investigations show that they were but the tip of the iceberg,
UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Philip Alston
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Cases of Extrajudicial Executions Post Soacha

The Colombian Government has claimed that there have been no new cases of extrajudicial executions since the Soacha scandal, in October last year, in which 22 young men from the poor neighborhoods of Soacha and the south of Bogot were disappeared and later killed. However, the Working Group on Extrajudicial Executions6 of the Coordination Colombia-EuropeUnited States (CCEEU) has documented a number of alleged cases since that time. They are as follows: May 10, 2009 (Valle de Cauca) Jos Wilson Giraldo was attacked when he was leaving his house in the company of his wife. He was shot in the head by unidentified men; he was immediately remitted to Calis Hospital where he remains under reserved medical care. Mr Giraldo is the brother of Mr. Jos Orlando Giraldo, who was killed on March 11, 2006 by members of the Third High Mountain Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo Battalion. March 14, 2009 (Meta) Luis Arbey Diaz was allegedly killed by members of the Mobile Brigade No1. Luis was the president of the Board of Community Action of the Tapir neighborhood in La Macarena. He was killed coming out of his house. At the time he was accompanied by his son who was arbitrarily arrested by army officers and held for 2 days. March 10, 2009 (Atlntico) Miguel Andrs Martnez Gonzlez (16) was allegedly assassinated by two members of the National Police who accused him and his friend of robbery. The police fled from the scene and the authorities later confirmed that Miguel was unarmed and had no criminal record. February 28, 2009 (Cundinamarca) Rodolfo Blandon was detained in Ciudad Bolivar by two police officers on motorbikes. He was found a week later shot in the head in Lucero Alto, Bogot. January 9, 2009 (Bogot) Robinson Gil was allegedly executed by two police officers in Bogot. Robinson, who was homeless, was brutally attacked and shot in the head reportedly for refusing to give his blanket to the police officers. The officers were discovered on the road to Choachi allegedly trying to hide the body. January 7, 2009 (Meta) Mara Concepcin Rico was assassinated, allegedly by members of the Armed Forces, while in her home in La Macarena with her daughter and a neighbor. The members of the armed forces reportedly accused the two present
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at the murder of being guerillas and said they were lucky to be spared. December 26, 2008 (Monteria) The body of Arnobis Negrete Villadiego was presented by the Rifles Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces 11th Brigade as a criminal working for drug capo Don Mario. The 18 year old boy was a student at the Cristobal Colon de Monteria high school and was reported missing the day before the armed forces announced his death. December 16, 2008 (Cauca) Jose Edwin Legarda, indigenous activist and husband of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) leader Aida Quilcue, was killed by members of the national armys Jos Hilario Lpez Battalion which shot at his vehicle 19 times. December 8, 2008 (Caqueta) Joel Perez Cardenas, founder and director of the Corporation for the Protection of Human Rights - Caguan Vive, was shot, decapitated, and had his remains incinerated. His community alleges he was assassinated by the armed forces. Experience has shown that cases of extrajudicial executions usually have a lag time before they are discovered. This is partly due to the fact that people are scared to denounce cases of extrajudicial executions, especially after senior government officials have accused people reporting these cases of being motivated by hatred for the president, and the army. Thus, it is too early to say if these initial cases give a true representation of the total number of cases that occurred between October 2008 and May 2009.

New Modalities of Extrajudicial Executions

The CCEEUs Working Group on Extrajudicial Executions has identified new modalities of extrajudicial executions where killings are no longer publicly reported, as happened in the case of false positives, but rather hidden, with measures taken to conceal the identity of those responsible. One example is the increase in cases of forced disappearances of human rights defenders and social leaders, with the person being subsequently killed and put into unidentified graves in the majority of these cases. In many of these cases members of the armed forces are alleged to have been involved either directly, through cooperation, or at the least through acquiescence with paramilitaries. According to a recent report by the National

Commission for the Search for Disappeared People, between January 1 2007 and October 21 2008 alone, there was a total of 1,686 people forcefully disappeared. Recent cases where members of the armed forces were allegedly involved in forced disappearances in which the person was subsequently killed or is presumed dead, include:7 February 15, 2009 (Meta) Alba Nelly was forcefully disappeared, allegedly by army officers of the Battalion 21 Vargas. Alba was the president of the Board of Community Action from the neighborhood of Esmeralda, in the municipality of Castillo, and had reported threats against her life by soldiers of the same battalion. She has yet to be found. April 22, 2008 (Bogot) Union leader Guillermo Rivera was detained by the armed forces in Bogota. His body was found in an unmarked grave in the city of Ibagu in the department of Tolima on July 16, 2008 and showed signs of torture. Neither his detention nor his subsequent death were reported by the authorities. January 10, 2008 Troops from the National Army Battalion Artillera Batalla Palac allegedly arbitrarily detained and later disappeared the President of the Association of Organic Coffee Growers of Colombia, Rigoberto Hoyos Ruiz, and his five sons. The CCEEU also highlights an increase in cases of extrajudicial executions committed by paramilitaries, with alleged cooperation from the armed forces either by direct collaboration or by acquiescence. There has been an increase in threats and attacks by the paramilitary groups against human rights defenders, community leaders, youth, the homeless and the marginalized sectors of society and pamphlets have been distributed in towns throughout the country warning of imminent social cleansing. The pamphlets have often included specific names of individual leaders, group members and alleged collaborators, as well as containing actual addresses. The presence of such specific and accurate information has been attributed to alleged leaks from officials within the government directly to the armed groups.8

extrajudicial executions were assigned to the human rights unit of the Attorney-Generals office. Of those cases, 981 are under investigation (95.7%), 23 cases are in the trial stage (2.2%) and only 16 cases (1.5%) have resulted in convictions and 83 people have been sentenced. The remaining 5 cases have yet to be processed. This information, which USOC received directly from the AGs human rights unit, reveals the alarmingly high impunity rate of 98.5% for cases in the AGs human rights unit resulting in convictions for this time period. In that timeframe the US provided significant funding for this unit and for the AGs office in general. While we applaud the US Governments support for the Colombian judicial and oversight agencies such as the AGs Office, these incredibly high rates of impunity point to the need to seek ways to ensure this aid produces real results in addressing the issue of impunity. Another reason for the delay, that the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions identified, is the AGs Human Rights Units lack of staff, resources, and training to process these cases. The Rapporteur said this Unit needs a substantial increase in resources.
Cases of Alleged Extrajudicial Executions Reported to the Attorney-General's Human Rights Unit 2002-April 2009

Cases under investigation 95.7% Cases in the trial stage 2.2% Cases resulting in convictions 1.5% Cases yet to be processed 0.5%

Alarming Rates of Impunity

Between 2002 and April 2009 1,025 cases of alleged
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One reason for these high levels of impunity appears to be problems with the application of the new accusatory system, which came into force under Law 906 of 2004. All of the 16 cases that have resulted in prosecution were tried under the old civil law system (Law 600 of 2000) and of the 23 cases in the trial stage only two are under the new accusatory system. The CCEEU explains that one reason for the problems with the accusatory system is the lack of deadlines for the initial stages of the investigation and thus many cases are stuck in this stage. The United States financed and facilitated the introduction of the new accusatory system and in general it is a great improvement to the civil law system,

Soacha and the False Promise of Justice

The case of Soacha, in which 22 young men were disappeared and later killed from poor neighborhoods of Soacha and the south of Bogot in October 2008, gained international attention. The Colombian government promised justice and sacked 40 army offices, including three generals, for their alleged role in the case. However, for many the promise of justice has not been met. To date, two colonels, two petty officers and five soldiers have been detained for their alleged involvement in the crime10. Meanwhile, many of the army offices sacked over the case have not been called to trial, nor have they been charged. In the hearing about this case, which was held in Soacha on April 21, 2008, the Director of the AGs Human Rights Unit, Sandra Castro, said that her unit had experienced serious difficulties accessing evidence and that the armed forces had presented obstacles to the Units investigation, including destroying relevant documentation.11 General Jos Joaqun Corts, ex-commander of the II Division of the Colombian Army, was one of the three generals removed from the armed forces for alleged involvement in the Soacha scandal. In an interview with Colombian newspaper El Espectador, he revealed:

Not all of the 27 officials and sub-officials removed by the President truly left the Army. Some continue working, including a major, captains and sergeants.12
Also troubling is the fact that many of the families of the victims of alleged extrajudicial execution from Soacha have been threatened and intimidated after reporting the death or disappearance of their loved one. Around ten of these families have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in nearby Bogot. A delegate of the municipal government working on the cases has also been intimidated.13 Family members of victims of alleged extrajudicial executions in other areas of the country have also been threatened or attacked, as is detailed later in the report.

especially in terms of respect for rights of the accused. However, there has been a serious delay in processing extrajudicial execution cases under this system which needs to be investigated. Disciplinary investigations into members of the armed forces who are accused of committing extrajudicial executions are being carried out by the InspectorGenerals office (IGO) and appear to be advancing. From 2002 to 2009 the IGO unit in charge of human rights disciplinary cases received and investigated 976 reports of extrajudicial executions, from which 651 (66.7%) are under disciplinary investigation waiting for a decision. During this time period 2140 public officials have been investigated and 1107 (51.7%) have been sanctioned with destitution and inability to be in public office.9 However, the CCEEUs Working Group on Extrajudicial Executions alleges that there has been a delay in investigations and that the majority of the cases under disciplinary investigation are still in the preliminary stages.

Edwin Legarda, his wife Aida Quilqu, and daughter Mayerli Alejandra Legarda

Government Comments Against Those Investigating Extrajudicial Executions

Rather than support the valuable work of the Colombian civil society groups who have conducted indepth investigations into extrajudicial executions, senior government officials have publicly denounced them, thus putting their lives at risk. On Wednesday May 6 in the First Congress on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in Cartagena, President Uribe claimed there was a group of attorneys paid by international human rights organizations that are behind the accusations against members of the armed forces allegedly involved in the extrajudicial executions. "We are also obliged to denounce [the] multitude of lawyers paid for by international organizations . . . for the service of making false accusations against our armed forces.14 In a press conference on May 4, 2009 President Uribe told the media that there are unscrupulous people who are trying to delegitimize the Policy of Democratic Security using false accusations.15 In the same event Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that intelligence information has revealed that
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there are people who want to tarnish the Armed Forces name by presenting false accusations.16 In a separate occasion he said that there was a perverse interest in inflating the statistics and that this was being done by President Uribes enemies.17 Organizations such as the CCEEUs Working Group on Extrajudicial Executions face danger investigating such a controversial issue as extrajudicial executions. The Colombian Government should provide them with full protection and public support.

Recent Attacks against Family Members of Extrajudicial Execution Victims

On May 5, 2009 a trial began against army officers from the Third High Mountain Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo Battalion charged with the murder of Mr. Jose Orlando Giraldo. Only five days later, on May 10, Mr. Jose Wilson Giraldo, Mr. Orlandos brother and key witness in the trial, was shot in the head by unidentified men while leaving his house in the company of his wife. Mr. Giraldo survived the attempt against his life, but remains in hospital.

In USOCs October 2008 report on extrajudicial executions we detailed Mr. Jos Orlando Giraldos case. Mr Giraldo was killed on March 11, 2006 allegedly by members of the Third High Mountain Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo Battalion. The soldiers present at the crime scene reported the death as the result of an official military operation against the FARC and they described Mr. Giraldo as a FARC militant killed in combat. The Giraldo family has strongly denied these accusations stating that Mr. Giraldo was a very well known community member. Official investigations have shown that Mr. Giraldos body presented signs of torture and that the crime scene was tampered with presumably by the army personnel standing guard at the scene of the crime. Since the murder of Mr. Giraldo his family has been under unauthorized surveillance and constant harassment by unidentified people they believe are connected to the army. In another similar case, Mayerli Alejandra Legarda the 12-years-old daughter of Edwin Legarda, who was killed by the army last year, was threatened by armed gunmen while she was in front of her house located near the Municipality of Popayn in the Department of Cauca. Mayerli ran inside the house and the armed men fled the area after they noticed that the indigenous guard was present in the house. The day beforehand unidentified individuals tried to gain access to her school claiming to be officials from the government. They then followed Mayerli home where she was interrogated without her mother being present and without her consent. In April 2009 the car that was assigned to Mayerli for her protection was followed and detained by a police patrol. They demanded for the vehicle to be inspected but the indigenous guard that was accompanying her refused. After getting in touch with the police commander of Cauca the officers agreed to let them through. Edwin Legarda was an indigenous leader and also the husband of Aida Quilqu, the leader of the Indigenous Regional Committee of Cauca (CRIC). On December 16, 2008 Mr. Legarda was assasinated by members of the third brigade of the army when he was travelling

from Torot to the Municipality of Inza in the Department of Cauca on a medical mission. His death still remains in impunity; as of yet, none of the officers captured have been prosecuted for this crime. UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston, reported the story of one woman whose son was allegedly a victim of this crime. When her other son became active in pursuing the case he received a series of threats and was subsequently killed. Since then the woman has also received death threats.

Recommendations
The US State Department and Justice Department should ensure that the assistance they provide the Colombian Attorney-Generals Office and the Inspector-Generals Office result in a significant reduction in the rate of impunity, especially in extrajudicial execution cases. To do this they should use benchmarks to measure success in reducing impunity, as well as continuing to raise the issue in meetings with the AG and IG. The US Congress should freeze all military aid subject to human rights conditions until the following conditions are met: a) There is a sustained and significant reduction in reported cases of extrajudicial executions; b) There is a significant improvement in conviction rates for cases of alleged

The sheer number of cases, their geographic spread, and the diversity of military units implicated, indicate that these killings were carried out in a more or less systematic fashion by significant elements within the military,
UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions
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extrajudicial executions; c) All directives, including Ministerial Directive 029, and other mechanisms that may create incentives for extrajudicial executions are terminated; d) An investigation is conducted into the allegations against both Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces General Gonzlez Pea and his predecessor General Mario Montoya The US Government should make use of all diplomatic means to urge the Colombian government to stop making allegations against individuals and organizations researching and denouncing cases of extrajudicial executions and rather give them their full public support and ensure their protection. The US Government should also call on the Colombian Government to guarantee the protection of family members and witnesses in extrajudicial execution cases and the US Government should assist in funding these protection programs. The State Department should conduct an investigation into the causes for delay in the investigation and prosecution of cases allegedly involving extrajudicial execution under the new accusatory system (Law 600). The US Government should ensure that Ministerial Directive 029 and all other directives and mechanisms that create incentive for extrajudicial executions are terminated and that the Defense Ministry carries out a public education campaign at all levels of the armed forces so that it is clear that such body count incentives are no longer in place.

Endnotes
1 2 Calculation using information that the US Office on Colombia received from the Attorney-Generals Human Rights Unit. USOC, Latin America Working Group, Washington Office on Latin America and the Center for International Policy. 111th U.S. Congress Should Not Tolerate Extrajudicial Executions in Colombia. http://www.usofficeoncolombia.com/ uploads/application-msword/ee%20memo%20to%20111th-1.doc El Pas, Fiscal solicita revisar directiva ministerial sobre recompensas, October 31, 2008, http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/notas/Octubre302008/ cortefiscal%20.html Translation by USOC. Source: Attorney-Generals office. El Tiempo, La Cultura de la Muerte, November 1, 2008, http://www. eltiempo.com/opinion/columnistas/saludhernndezmora/la-cultura-de-lamuerte_4639712-1 The Working Group is formed by 20 different human rights organizations with representatives across the country. This includes some of the countrys leading human rights NGOs, including CCJ, CINEP and Minga. Documented by the CCEEUs Working Group on Extrajudicial Executions. Semana, guilas Negras envan amenazas documentadas, May 14, 2009, http:// www.semana.com/noticias-conflicto-armado/aguilas-negras-envian-amenazasdocumentadas/123963.aspx Source: Inspector-Generals Office response to USOCs inquiry, May 2009. CCEEU, May 2009. CCEEU, May 2009, p.7. El Espectador, Entrevista al General Corts, March 2, 2009. http://www. elespectador.com/impreso/tema-del-dia/articuloimpreso123316-fuimos-carnede-buitre El Espectador, Nuevas amenazas contra denunciantes de falsos positivos en Soacha, June10, 2009. http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/ articulo145153-nuevas-amenazas-contra-denunciantes-de-falsos-positivossoacha Colombia Reports, International organizations finance false accusations against security forces, May 8, 2009, http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/ news/3940-international-organizations-finance-false-accusations-againstsecurity-forces-uribe.html Presidencia de la Repblica, President Uribe denounces false accusations against Armed Forces, May 8, 2009 http://web. presidencia.gov.co/english/2009/mayo/01082009_eng.html Presidencia de la Repblica, Gobierno debe rechazar por igual falsos positivos y falsas denuncias, advierte Jefe de Estado, May 4, 2009, http://web.presidencia. gov.co/sp/2009/mayo/04/12042009.html El Tiempo, Joven de Montera es el nuevo caso de falso positivo revelado por el ministro de Defensa, May 4, 2009, http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/ justicia/joven-de-monteria-es-el-nuevo-caso-de-falso-positivo-revelado-por-elministro-de-defensa_5129447-1 Caracol, Cifras sobre falsos positivos han sido infladas, segn Mindefensa, April 21, 2009, http://www.caracoltv.com/noticias/politica/articulo136288-cifrassobre-falsos-positivos-han-sido-infladas-segun-mindefensa

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