Colombia’s judicial system needs “urgent” change to guarantee justice to members of the armed forces who are accused of crimes, a senator said Tuesday.
According to U Party Senator Roy Barreras, special jurisdiction must be implemented to guarantee due process for military officials.
Currently, soldiers are afraid to take orders from their superiors for fear of being prosecuted for their actions, which has led to greater insecurity in the country, according to the senator.
“Those who judge, [must] know the language of war, know the different between an attack and a conflict, because when they do not know, the perception of blame falls on the military officers and this causes the demoralization of troops and that Colombians suffer insecurity,” said Barreras.
There is fear among the military members about being judged on how they do their job, he said.
W Radio reported that the Minister of Defense Juan Carlos Pinzon supported the position of Barreras and said that the government is concerned with recognizing and analyzing the “concern of members of the armed forces in terms of the judicial context of carrying out operations.”