Nine military officers from the National Colombian Army were dismissed and suspended for 20, 15 and 20 years in the wake of a proven case of tortures committed in 2006 against 21 subordinates. The issue was uncovered and denounced timely by Semana magazine.
The suspended officers belonged to the Patriotas infantry battalion and committed their acts of violence on Jan. 25, 2006 on youngsters in compulsory military service.
According to the ruling on second instance issued by the Attorney General’s Office six years later, Attorney General Alejandro Ordonez ordered the creation of a special disciplinary commission to probe into the events.
Evidence showed that during a counter-guerrilla military drill, the soldiers were blindfolded and his hands tied on their backs, and “then they were insulted, intimidated, beaten brutally, and their mouths were repeatedly filled with sand, salt, urine and other substances, and they suffered burns with a stick in several parts of their bodies, including the face, and even suffered sexual aggression” among other brutalities.
