Colombian Officers
Convicted of
Extrajudicial Murder
Bogota - A total of 45
Colombian officers were
convicted of killing
civilians in the name of
purging rebels in the
country, the
prosecutor's office said
Friday.
Twenty-one police
officers, 20 Army
soldiers and four secret
police officers had been
accused of so-called
"fake positives," which
means killing innocent
civilians while alleging
they were guerilla
members.
The officers, among 952
more being investigated,
committed the
extrajudicial executions
in an attempt to seek
good security progress,
prosecutors said.
In January, at least 20
youngsters were killed
in Soacha, south of the
capital Bogota, leading
to investigations into
hundreds of such cases
in the country.
According to a report by
the Human Rights Unit of
the prosecutor's office,
the number of homicides
allegedly committed by
members of the public
forces increased from
155 to 219 between
August and November in
the northwestern
Colombian Department of
Antioquia.
In the central Meta
Department, such cases
rose from 107 to
115during the same
period. In Norte de
Santander, which borders
Venezuela, the number of
cases rose from 26 to
50.
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