Nine Colombian soldiers were called to court over their alleged participation in the killing of a farmer accused of being a left-wing FARC member.
Colombia’s Inspector General said the nine soldiers, belonging to an anti-guerrilla unit of the army’s 11th , could have killed the civilian during the “Marcial” operation launched against Colombia’s largest rebel group, FARC, in 2003, “without being certain if said person was a military object.”
The military claimed the individual, who was killed in Antioquia’s Andino municipality, was a collaborator of the guerrilla, which is active in this part of the department. According to testimonies and documents, the civilian was the owner of a small farm and worked as a peasant.
The said there was not enough proof to conclude that the individual was a FARC member and that he was not armed or in the company of rebels on the day of his killing. The two officers and the seven non-commissioned officers could have acted in a manner and had possibly violated their commitment to protect people who were not a part of hostilities.
The case could become the latest episode in the so-called false positives-scandal, in which some 3,000 cases