Judge Leaves Colombia After
Receiving Death Threats
BOGOTA - A Colombian judge, who handed down
a 30-year sentence to a retired Army colonel
for involvement in the disappearance of
civilians in 1985, had fled the country
after receiving death threats, an attorney
of the judge said on Tuesday.
Judge Maria Jara Gutierrez had left Colombia
with her son after receiving threats from
alleged "illegal armed groups," Jorge Molano
told local Caracol Radio Station.
Two weeks ago, the judge sentenced retired
colonel Luis Plazas Vega to 30 years in
prison for his role in the disappearance of
11 people during a military operation
against the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia in the taking of the Palace of
Justice in Bogota 24 years ago.
Plazas led the operation, in which 55 people
were killed, including 11 judges.
The court found colonel Plazas guilty of
retention and disappearance of ten civilians
and one member of the FARC.
Gutierrez left Colombia after the
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR)
gave her shelter as a precautionary measure
and as a response to her repeated complaints
of threats after receiving criticism from
President Alvaro Uribe.
Uribe had regretted the sentence and said it
was "unfair" and "discouraging" for the
Armed Forces of Colombia, but at the same
time he asked the justice to pursue the
rebels of the illegal armed group,
Movimiento 19 or simply M-19, who
participated in the taking of the building. |
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