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The report maintains that the Colombian police unleashed “one of the most serious episodes of human rights violations in the history of the country’s capital.”
The Colombian national police are singled out for the death of 11 people during the demonstrations that broke out in September last year, precisely against police brutality.
The report published this Monday by the Bogotá Mayor’s Office and backed by the United Nations has 182 pages in which it is confirmed that on September 9 and 11, 2020, national security committed a “massacre” against citizens in low-income neighborhoods.
The report of the Independent Rapporteur confirms that what happened on September 9 and 11 was a massacre as a consequence of the illicit use of force by agents of the National Police. The conclusions: 👇 pic.twitter.com/dNUtAD5Ziu
– Claudia López 👍 (@ClaudiaLopez) December 13, 2021
There were six months of investigation by an interdisciplinary team of seven professionals who documented the events of police abuse that occurred during the protests in the Colombian capital.
According to the report, 75 people were injured by firearms during the three days of protests and a total of 14 people died; 11 of them died at the hands of the police and the other 3 people lost their lives in the midst of civilians who used firearms.
More than 90 witnesses participated in the delivery of information for the construction of the report among the police, protesters and families of the victims.
“Everybody made mistakes on September 9 and 10, except for the victims of this tragedy,” said Carlos Negret, a lawyer and human rights expert who directed the investigation report. “The police acted with a disproportionate use of force and went after the poorest in the city,” he said.
Currently, the Colombian security forces are directed by the Ministry of Defense and can only receive orders from the national government.
1. The police acted disproportionately, they should have received the order not to shoot from their supreme commander; 2. The most affected were humble young people, all had come to Bogotá in search of opportunities; 👇# Reporting9S
– Claudia López 👍 (@ClaudiaLopez) December 13, 2021
For this reason, the report calls on the Colombian state to reform the country’s laws so that there is greater control by local authorities, such as mayors and governors.
The report also calls on Colombian prosecutors to investigate the role that high-ranking officials may have played in the violent response to the September protests.
The murder of the taxi driver that sparked the anger of the protesters
The death of the 43-year-old taxi driver and law student, Javier Ordóñez, caused by two police officers on the night of Tuesday, September 8, 2020, ignited the fury of Colombians who also saw the police abuse through videos registered by protesters on social media.
The policemen, who are being tried for the events, detained Ordóñez, beat him and tortured him with electric pistols, and he was later transferred to an Immediate Attention Command where he continued to be beaten until he lost his life.
“The acts of violence, abuse and police brutality that began with the murder of Javier Ordóñez at the hands of members of the National Police unleashed one of the most serious episodes of human rights violations in the history of Bogotá,” says the report , led by the country’s former Ombudsman, Carlos Negret, and sponsored by the United Nations.
The report also gives an account of arbitrary arrests, gender-based violence and the records of attacks against the police during the demonstrations.
Protests against the government of Iván Duque
Earlier this year dozens of people lost their lives in anti-government protests that were against taxes and national inequality. The result: road blocks, outbreaks of violent protesters, looting of local businesses and damage to the public good.
According to evidence gathered by Human Rights Watch, Colombian police could be implicated in 25 of these deaths.
The report is published at a time when the Colombian police are undergoing one of the highest scrutiny for their actions in the context of the demonstrations.
Different sectors have called for police reform, arguing that an institution that has been prepared to fight drug gangs and guerrilla groups in rural areas is not equipped to handle large crowds of civilians in urban areas.
So far, although four police officers face murder charges for the deaths that occurred in the September 2020 protests, none of those accused of murder are in prison while sentencing is being determined.
With AP, Reuters and local media
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