A court in the north of Colombia on Friday sentenced members of the military to between 28 and 55 years in prison for the kidnapping and killing of two men from a city just south of Bogota.
The two victims were part of a group of 17 that were promised jobs, taken to a remote part of the country where the soldiers executed the men and presented them as guerrillas killed in combat.
A lieutenant and sargent were sentenced to 55 years in prison, a colonel and one soldier to 54 years, one soldier to 29 years and another three soldiers to 28 years.
Prosecutors had asked the maximum penalty of 60 years in prison.
The Soacha “false positives” case is one of hundreds being investigated by authorities, who have said that some 2,000 civilians were murdered by members of the armed forces to make the war afgainst illegal armed groups look more successful.