Retired general to be tried for Palace of Justice murder

Retired General Jesus Armando Arias Cabrales is to be tried for murder over the death of an assistant magistrate in the 1985 Palace of Justice siege, W Radio reported Tuesday.

Investigations suggest that Carlos Horacio Uran, assistant judge to the Council of State, escaped the siege alive, but was later assassinated and his body returned to the scene.

Also incriminated in the assassination of the judge are former soldiers Rafael Hernandez and Carlos Alberto Fracica.

The interrogations will take place February 10 and 15, respectively, before a Human Rights Unit.

In September 2010 a Bogota court ruled that the civilian deaths in the Palace of Justice siege are crimes against humanity and therefore not subject to a statute of limitations.

Bogota’s Palace of Justice, seat of Colombia’s Supreme Court, was taken over by M-19 guerrillas on November 6, 1985. Judges, staff, and members of the public were taken hostage. More than 100 people died during the military’s re-taking of the building, including 11 judges, and the army has been accused of torturing and murdering 11 civilians who disappeared after being rescued from the palace.

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