Two men were brought to justice for their alleged participation in a violent attack that occurred inside a Police station in the Altavista district, southwest of Medellín, where two trans women were seriously injured after being burned with hot oil while they were detained.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the events were recorded on the morning of January 2, when the victims were asleep in a cell. One of them woke up when she felt an intense burning sensation in her feet and, when she reacted, she noticed that the mat was on fire.
According to the evidentiary material collected by the judicial police, when asking for help and asking to be allowed to leave the place, the women were allegedly intimidated by other detainees, who allegedly threatened them with death and carried out attacks motivated by their gender identity. Subsequently, they allegedly threw hot oil on them and started the fire, causing injuries to different parts of their bodies.
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One of the victims suffered injuries that resulted in a 20-day medico-legal disability, while authorities continue to evaluate the physical and emotional consequences of the attack.
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Medellin City
Due to these events, a prosecutor from the Medellín Section charged Luis Felipe Bedoya Hurtado and Saúl Enrique Villanueva Wanderliner with the crime of aggravated attempted femicide. None of the defendants accepted the charges during the hearing.
A guarantee control judge ordered that both continue to be held in a penitentiary center, taking into account that they were already deprived of their liberty due to other ongoing judicial processes.
The case has generated concern about the security conditions inside detention centers and reopens the debate on the protection of the rights of people belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community, especially when they are in State custody.