Colombian senator Iván Cepeda, together with a group of Colombian civil organizations, denounced the government of Iván Duque for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, May 13.
Denunciamos hoy ante la Corte Penal Internacional al presidente de la República, el ministro de Defensa, el exsenador Uribe, los generales Zapateiro y Vargas, por la presunta ejecución de crímenes de lesa humanidad contra participantes en las movilizaciones: pic.twitter.com/uAKOx5Nemg
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) May 13, 2021
The complaint consists of an extensive list of human rights violations allegedly committed by police during the National Strike demonstrations that began on April 28 and are still continuing. President Iván Duque, Defense Minister Diego Molano, the commander of the armed forces, General Eduardo Zapateiro and the National Police director, General Jorge Luis Vargas have all been identified as responsible for the human rights violations.
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Senator Cepeda informed that “the complaint documents 1,595 occurrences where there have been serious human rights violations such as murder, attempted murder, torture, rape, and arbitrary detention which took place from April 28 up to the present time.”
The complaint delivered to the ICC documents:
- 24 murder cases and 50 victims of attempted murder
- 16 victims of sexual violence
- 11 victims of enforced disappearance
- 129 victims of torture and 1,365 victims of arbitrary detention
The report also documents 40 deaths during police actions in the protests. Many of those deaths occurred due to indiscriminate use of firearms in the cities of Cali, Pereira and Ibagué. Furthermore, the group issuing the complaint warns of the disappearance of 435 persons.
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Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister Claudia Blum submitted her resignation after the complaint was issued. The top diplomat had planned a trip to Europe, where she was to present to the international community, the Colombian government’s perspective regarding the protests.
Featured image: Social organizations denounce that at least 40 people have lost their lives due to criminal actions perpetrated by the government of Iván Duque. File Photo.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
