Six members of the Colombian military Thursday were charged for
their alleged responsibility in the disappearance and death of eight
civilians from Soacha who ended up reported as guerrillas killed in
combat 500 miles from their home.
The Prosecution says the soldiers are guilty of conspiring to
commit a crime, forgery of public documents, aggravated homicide and
forced disappearance.
All suspects pleaded not guilty before the judge and initially requested to be tried before a military tribunal instead of a civilian criminal court. The judge rejected this request.
The prosecution claims to have evidence the soldiers paid criminals to recruit the victims,who were then taken to the north east of Colombia where they were executed and reported as members of illegal armed groups killed in combat.
The Soacha case unleashed a storm of public protest and forced the army to admit its troops had been guilty of severe human rights violations, something that had been denied for years.More than 1,200 cases of ´false positives´ are currently being investigated by the Prosecutor General´s Office.