Demobilized paramilitaries, who are not fulfilling their obligations under the Justice and Peace Law, should lose their right to shorter sentences, according to Colombia’s Prosecutor General Thursday.
The former members of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) were granted a right to shorter sentences for demobilizing in 2006 under the Justice and Peace Law, but Eduardo Montealegre told local media that some former paramilitaries are not fulfilling their obligations.
His office will ask judges to exclude paramilitaries, many of whom are accused of murder and other violent crimes, from the right to shorter sentences after deciding that some are not admitting to the entirety of their crimes while others are not giving reparations to their victims as demanded by the Law.
If the 354 paramilitaries, which includes 8 former AUC leaders, lose their protection under the Justice and Peace Law they will face the maximum sentence of 60 years for their crimes, instead of just 8 years.
The demobilization of illegal armed groups initiated by former president Alvaro Uribe has been controversial, with claims that it has not been a success in the face of the rise of neo-paramilitary groups.