A judge has accepted a petition of the defense of retired colonel Alfonso Plazas Vega that one of the Palace of Justice ‘disappeared’ victims has a mislabeled document of necropsy filed at the morgue.
Defense Lawyer Peter Capacho, who represents colonel Alfonso Plazas Vega, has petitioned the court regarding a document of necropsy at the Institute of the number 3873 pertaining to Charles Orlando Rodriguez. In reality, says Capacho, it corresponds to that of Carlos A. Rodriguez, one of the ‘disappeared’ victims of the 1985 Bogota Palace of Justice siege.
The judge said if an immediate response is received, the commission will return to the specialized courts to continue the trial hearing.
Although Plazas Vega did not attend the hearing, which began this morning in Bogota, the investigation into the disappeared victims of the Palace of Justice siege will continue, reports newspaper El Tiempo.
Plazas Vega’s supporters have announced a demonstration at 11a.m. Tuesday in the Plaza de Bolivar in the heart of Bogota to protest his incarceration. A document listing the reasons for which the Colonel should be released will be filed with the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and the Ombudsman.
Retired colonel Plazas Vega is currently on trial for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of eleven civilians during the Palace of Justice siege in 1985. One of the bloodiest of Colombia’s history, around 100 people died during an occupation orchestrated by guerrilla group M19, and the subsequent military siege. Twelve of the twenty-five Supreme Court magistrates died and eleven civilians went missing after the army rescued them from the Palace.