Series on the rights of the victims and the application of Law 975. Bulletin No 38

1. COMISIÓN COLOMBIANA DE JURISTAS Con el apoyo de:
Organización no gubernamental con estatus consultivo ante la ONU
Filial de la Comisión Internacional de Juristas (Ginebra) y de la Comisión Andina de Juristas (Lima)
PERSONERÍA JURÍDICA: RESOLUCIÓN 1060, AGOSTO DE 1988 DE LA ALCALDÍA MAYOR DE BOGOTÁ UNIÓN EUROPEA
Bulletin No 38: Series on the rights of the victims and the application of Law 975 
Justice draws closer to the victims: The Supreme Court of Justice revoked the first ruling in
the framework of Law 975 in the case of the paramilitary alias “el Loro” (“the Parrot”)
This past July 31, the Supreme Court of Justice revoked the only sentence issued until now in
relation to the paramilitaries subject to Law 975 of 2005 through which they obtain reduced
sentences. The decision was based on the fact that the paramilitary Wilson Salazar Carrascal, alias
“el Loro” (“the Parrot”), had been condemned for a few crimes but not for the one that the Court
identified as the “basic crime”: That of paramilitarism or of aggravated conspiracy to commit a
crime. The Court stated that this is a crime against humanity and is the one that explains the rest of
the offenses attributed to the paramilitaries; therefore it is an error not to have taken it into account
in the case of the paramilitary alias “el Loro.”
With this decision the Court not only corrected its error in this concrete case, but it also warned, for
the rest of the cases, that these crimes must be investigated and judged in an integrated manner,
since they constitute a massive and systematic conduct. Therefore, they cannot be treated in an
isolated way, and neither is it adequate to press partial charges or issue partial sentences to the
persons involved, as the Court had wrongly authorized in previous pronouncements.
Furthermore, the Court warned judges and prosecutors that in their acts they must take into
consideration international humanitarian law and human rights law, which should lead them to give
priority to the rights of the victims and allow them to take part in the confession or “free version”
proceedings of the paramilitaries, which on the grounds of this ruling will be considered part of the
judicial phase, and not of an administrative phase, which until now has kept the victims from
intervening actively. The prosecutors must guarantee that such confessions are complete and
truthful, and that the paramilitaries are effectively working toward reparation of the victims. To that
end, the prosecutors must issue preventive measures for the seizure and confiscation of the
paramilitaries’ property beginning at the moment when the Prosecutor’s Office receives information
from the government regarding the identity of those postulated to be part of the legal process under
Law 975.
This is thus a decision that is of transcendental importance for guaranteeing the rights of the
victims. And this, not only because it removed all legal force from a ruling harmful to the victims
of alias “el Loro” but also because, in addition, it corrected errors being committed by judges and
prosecutors in the proceedings under Law 975 of 2005. The main aspects of this ruling are
analyzed in greater detail in the full version of this document.
Bogotá, September 16, 2009
For further information, please contact Gustavo Gallón Giraldo, Director CCJ (Tel. 571-376 8200, ext.
115).
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The present publication has been prepared with the support of the European Union and its content is the sole
responsibility of the Colombian Commission of Jurists. In no way should it be thought to reflect the point of view of the
European Union.
Calle 72 Nº 12-65 piso 7 PBX: (571) 3768200 – (571) 3434710 Fax: (571) 3768230
Email: ccj@coljuristas.org Website: www.coljuristas.org
Bogotá, Colombia