Bogotá .- The Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) expelled this Tuesday retired Army colonel José Pastor Ruiz Mehecha for failing to acknowledge the “judicial truth” in the three cases he faces in that tribunal involving 22 victims of murders and forced disappearances presented as combat casualties.
«The Absence of Recognition of Truth Section (SAR) of the Tribunal for Peace concluded that the appearing party did not make effective contributions to the clarification of the truth, repeatedly disregarded the judicial truth established in final conviction sentences, and failed to comply with the commitments assumed before the transitional justice system», the JEP stated in a press release.
Upon being excluded from the JEP, Colonel Ruiz Mahecha’s case will be referred to the Prosecutor’s Office so that it may continue the investigation against the officer for the alleged crimes of homicide of a protected person and forced disappearance, which are classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“Likewise, a second process will return to the First Specialized Criminal Circuit Court of Florencia (Caquetá) so that it may continue the trial phase,” the information added.
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The proceedings against Ruiz Mahecha
When he submitted himself to the JEP, created by the signing of the peace agreement between the Government and the FARC, the officer already had three “final convictions issued by the ordinary criminal justice system for the crimes of homicide of a protected person and conspiracy to commit a crime, related to the events that occurred on June 22 and October 26, 2002, in which 20 people died, as well as for trafficking, manufacturing, or carrying firearms”.
In turn, Ruiz Mahecha was in command of an elite group of the La Popa Battalion, located in Valledupar, capital of the department of Cesar, in northern Colombia, which was then led by Colonel Publio Hernán Mejía.
Both, along with retired Colonel Heber Hernán Gómez and 12 other military personnel, were accused of 127 murders and disappearances of innocent young people in order to present them as guerrilla casualties in combat.
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Last February, the high court also expelled retired Police General Mauricio Santoyo, former head of security for the Presidency of Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010), for failing to provide “full truth” about the armed conflict in his appearances before that court.
