Civilians attacked and police threatened in Colombia 5:13
(CNN Spanish) -
Judge 29 of guarantee control accepted the request of the Prosecutor's Office and imposed an assurance measure against the two policemen involved in the case of Javier Ordóñez in Colombia.
Earlier, the Prosecutor's Office requested to charge the agents with the crimes of torture and aggravated homicide.
The judge accepted the request of a prosecutor from the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations of the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, who charged the crimes of homicide and aggravated torture against former agents Juan Camilo Lloreda Cubillos and Harby Damián Rodríguez Díaz , charges that were not accepted by the defendants.
The former police officers, who were sent to the Jail and Penitentiary of Medium and Minimum Security for Members of the Public Force of Facatativá, appear in a video of September 8 arresting the lawyer Javier Ordóñez, 43, who was subjected to several electric shocks while they asked him to put his hands back, despite the fact that the citizen said "no more" and that later he died.
They send the cops to prison
“In the judgment of the judge, the right to freedom of these two citizens would have to be sacrificed, they did not show adequate behavior in the exercise of their functions, which caused the death of a person in what way, but previously they tortured him causing many and intense pain ”, said the judge when explaining her decision.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation of Colombia requested to impute the crimes of aggravated homicide and torture to two of the seven policemen involved in a case of alleged police abuse that sparked protests in the country.
In the second judicial hearing that took place this Sunday, they rejected the charges and asked that the Military Criminal Justice judge them.
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During the hearing, the Prosecutor's Office asked Judge 29 of guarantee control to order the intramural security measure against the ex-uniformed persons.
Javier Ordoñez was "tortured", says judge
The guarantee control judge considered that the prosecutor reasonably and sufficiently justified why the right to liberty of the two ex-agents was sacrificed, “who did not show adequate behavior in the exercise of their functions, which caused the death of a person , but previously they tortured him causing him a lot of intense pain ”.
The judge added that “in Colombia torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are prohibited.
Not only does Wilmer say it (an eyewitness of the events presented by the prosecutor), the photographic material also says it, Javier Humberto is seen with three sets of handcuffs, handcuffed in a fetal position ”.
The judge's decision was refuted by the defense of Harby Damián Rodríguez Díaz, who filed an appeal.
Rodríguez Díaz's lawyer asked the second instance that her client be able to comply with the preventive detention measure at her home, a request that was denied by the judge.
For his part, the defense attorney for Juan Camilo Lloreda Cubillos did not file any appeal and accepted the decision.
The prosecutor in the case agreed with the judge's decision, but made an appeal for reconsideration, as he considered that the Facatativá police jail is not the ideal one.
Details of the necropsy
The representative of the Public Ministry read before the judge and the defense of those involved the autopsy carried out by Legal Medicine on the body of Javier Ordóñez.
According to the document, the lawyer's cause of death was “massive intra-abdominal and retroperitoneal hemorrhage secondary to high abdominal trauma.
Injuries produced by multiple blunt trauma to the abdomen and lumbar region ”.
The text concludes that "his death was due to a blunt, high-energy blunt abdominal trauma, a diagnosis of violent death, the death of which is due to circumstances of violence."
The prosecutor during the hearing said that "the uniformed men decide to subdue Ordoñez, for which they not only allegedly use physical force but also an electro-shock pistol."
The prosecutor in charge of the investigation read an account of the events that occurred on the night of September 8, in which the police procedure was advanced in response to an alleged altercation involving Ordóñez.
He warned that, according to the eyewitness Wimer Salazar, a friend who was arrested along with Javier, after he was detained, the lawyer received forceful blows inside the vehicle that was transporting them to the police station in the Villa Luz neighborhood, in the west of Bogota
Inside the Immediate Attention Center (CAI), according to the story, Ordóñez continued to be handcuffed and expressed pain.
The testimony of Javier Ordóñez's brother
Several deaths in Bogotá after the death of Javier Ordóñez 3:31
During the hearing, Luis Alejandro Ordóñez, brother of the fatal victim and a professional doctor, drew attention to other details of the autopsy.
"What the external examination says is that he presents 14 lesions of a hemorrhagic type, which were presented in the thorax, abdomen, lumbar, frontal region and fronto parietal ... in all of humanity, my brother presents lesions," he said.
Regarding the internal examination, he added: “there is an outbreak that occurred in the right kidney and it is due to a very high energy trauma, it cannot be inflicted injuries as mentioned by the uniformed men.
My brother, being on the reduced floor, cannot make a kidney explosion with that mechanism.
My brother had 80% blood loss.
There is a hole with cavitation that is written in the report of Legal Medicine of firearm ».
While reading the autopsy report, Ordóñez's brother burst into tears and called the uniformed "monsters."
The defense arguments
Defense attorney for the police officer Harvy Damian replied that he "has no arguments to undermine the requirements."
He also assured that the defense knows that the minimum sentence of this penalty could exceed four years in prison.
He refuted the request for a prison security measure, claiming that his client does not represent obstruction of justice and is no longer part of the Police.
The defense mentioned that Harvey Damian was in the institution for about 11 years, has 24 congratulations and three decorations.
He asked that these factors be taken into account to impose a less invasive measure, such as home detention.
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For his part, Juan Camilo Lloreda Cubillos's lawyer, the last to speak during the hearing, said that his “legal representation does not intend to impose itself on the request made and assisted by the Public Ministry and the victim's representation, if that is what sensible and supported by the prosecutor.
He reiterated that his client wants to answer for the facts, and asked for justice to be done within the procedural protocol.
His last words during the intervention referred to Javier Ordóñez's brother.
«We are deeply sorry, you do not know the pain.
I want him to convey to his family that Juan Camilo feels the pain of the loss of his brother, and that he is responding and will respond, "he said.
On September 11, Defense Minister Carlos Holmes reported that five other police officers would be suspended for investigation.
Javier Ordonez