A Colombia judge overturned the conviction of a FARC commander Thursday for his alleged role in a 1998 massacre in which 17 civilians died, reported Colombian media.
The judge in the north-eastern Arauca department ruled it was unlawful to sentence German Suarez Briceno, alias “Grannobles,” for the death of civilians killed in a Colombian Air Force (FAC) response to the murder of nine soldiers committed by Grannobles and his men.
Authorities investigated the bombing, known as the Santo Domingo Massacre, at the time and the FAC was ordered to pay compensation to the victims’ families.
The judge said that the FARC commander was not being investigated by the Prosecutor General’s office for the massacre during his original trial.
The Colombian government has appealed a decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) to force the State to compensate the victims claiming the FARC was guilty of the civilian deaths.