Bogotá (EFE).- The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP in Spanish) indicted on Monday 11 former commanders of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including sexual violence, sexual slavery, gender-based violence, and persecution of civilians.
The indictment was based on the accounts of 743 verified victims. Of these victims, 573 are women, including 18 transgender women, and 81 are men, six of whom are transgender men. 272 people were children when the events occurred,» stated the JEP, which was created under the peace agreement signed by the Colombian government and the FARC in 2016.
The indicted former guerrilla leaders held various leadership positions, including commanders and members of general staffs of the now-defunct Southern, Eastern, Northwestern, and Western blocs, as well as the FARC’s Central Joint Command.
«The defendants were identified as those bearing ultimate responsibility, either through command or direct perpetration, for the war crimes of rape, sexual violence, sexual slavery, homicide, torture, cruel treatment, and the displacement of civilians,» the tribunal added.
The JEP’s Truth Recognition Chamber found that some of the 11 former commanders, including Luis Eduardo Rayo (known as Marlon) and Fabián Ramírez Cabrera, were responsible for failing to prevent, investigate, or punish their subordinates who directly committed the crimes. Others were direct perpetrators.
«Most of the direct perpetrators died in the war,» the report stated.
Of the 2,222 cases of sexual and gender-based violence attributed to the FARC and registered in the ordinary justice system, 91% did not go to trial, and 78% did not progress beyond the initial stages of investigation.
The JEP also noted that none of the indicted former commanders had served time in prison for these crimes.
These charges are part of Case 11, which the JEP has been investigating since Aug. 2023.
Case 11 concerns gender-based violence, sexual violence, reproductive violence, and other crimes committed out of prejudice based on sexual orientation, gender expression, and/or diverse gender identity within the context of the Colombian armed conflict.
«The investigation into Case 11 arose from a petition by victims and their organizations who asked the JEP to establish a mechanism to investigate gender- and prejudice-based violence in the armed conflict,» the court added.EFE
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