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of Lieutenant-Colonel Duque Izquierdo and Lieutenant Fernández Ocampo, as
Military Court No. 15 (Juzgado 15 de Instrucción Penal Militar) had begun its
own investigation in the case; furthermore, since the alleged offences had
been committed in the course of duty by the officers concerned, i.e. in their
military capacity, they fell exclusively within military jurisdiction.
2.8
The examining magistrate of Court No. 65 refused and asked the
Disciplinary Tribunal to rule on the matter; on 23 July 1991, the Disciplinary
Tribunal decided that the competence to try Lieutenant-Colonel Duque Izquierdo
and Lieutenant Fernández Ocampo was indeed with the military courts, i.e. the
Second Brigade of Barranquilla. There was one dissenting vote, as one
magistrate considered that the conduct of the two officers was not directly
related to their military status. It is stated that military criminal
proceedings against the two accused were discontinued on 30 April 1992, with
respect to the allegation made by the Villafañe brothers, and on 5 May 1992
with respect to the disappearance and subsequent murders of the three
indigenous leaders. These decisions were confirmed by the High Military Court
(Tribunal Superior Militar) on 8 March 1993 and in July 1993.
2.9
Meanwhile, the part of the criminal proceedings in which charges were
brought against Eduardo Enrique Mattos and Luis Alberto Uribe had been
referred to Court No. 93; on 23 October 1991, the Court acquitted both accused
and ordered all criminal proceedings against them to be discontinued. Counsel
then appealed to the High Court in Valledupar, which confirmed the decision of
23 October 1991; it found that the evidence against Luis Alberto Uribe was
insufficient to prove any involvement in the murders, and also took into
consideration the fact that Eduardo Enrique Mattos had died in the meantime.
2.10 The Human Rights Division of the Attorney-General's Office (Procuraduría
Delegada para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos) initiated independent
disciplinary proceedings in the case. In a decision dated 27 April 1992, it
found Lieutenant-Colonel Duque Izquierdo and Lieutenant Fernández Ocampo
guilty of torturing José Vicente and Amado Villafañe, and of having
participated in the triple murder of Luis Napoleon Torres Crespo, Angel María
Torres Arroyo and Antonio Hugues Chaparro Torres. It ordered their summary
dismissal from the army. The Director of the Office of Indigenous Affairs
was, however, acquitted. Counsel submits that the findings of the Human
Rights Division of the Attorney-General's Office have been consistently
ignored by the Colombian authorities, as evidenced by Major-General Hernando
Camilo Zuñiga Chaparro on 3 November 1994, in his reply to a request for
information made by the Colombia section of the Andean Commission of Jurists.
In this reply, he stated that the two officers had retired from the army, in
December 1991 and September 1992, at their own request.
The complaint
3.1
It is submitted that the above situation reveals that the members of the
Arhuaco community, Luis Napoleon Torres Crespo, Angel María Torres Arroyo and
Antonio Hugues Chaparro Torres, as well as the two Villafañe brothers, have
been victims of violations by Colombia of articles 2, paragraph 3; 6,
paragraph 1; 7; 9; 14 and 27 of the Covenant.