A specialized criminal judge issued a conviction against the top leaders of the ELN for the kidnapping of journalists that occurred between 2016 and 2017 in the Catatumbo region, in Norte de Santander.
Among the victims is the renowned journalist Salud Hernández-Mora, editorial director of SEMANA magazine, along with national and international communicators.
The judicial decision came after the evaluation of the evidence presented by the Attorney General’s Office, which managed to establish the responsibility of the Central Command (Coce) and other guerrilla leaders in the illegal detention of seven journalists and two media workers, events that generated widespread national and international condemnation.
According to the accusing body, the kidnappings were ordered directly from the ELN leadership as a strategy of territorial control and political pressure in one of the areas hardest hit by the armed conflict.
The judge concluded that the events constitute serious violations of human rights and freedom of the press.
Who are the condemned?
The ruling covers Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, alias Gabino; Eliécer Herlinton Chamorro Acosta, alias Antonio García; Israel Ramírez Pineda, alias Pablo Beltrán; Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo Quinchía, alias Pablito; as well as Leinner José Franco Pérez, alias Marcos or Barbas, and José Yuli Ávila Fierro, alias Cuyo or Jaguar, leaders of the Northeastern War Front.
The kidnapping victims
Among the affected journalists are Salud Hernández-Mora, kidnapped on May 21, 2016, and the journalistic team made up of Diego Alonso D’Pablos Aranda, the cameraman Carlos Alberto Melo Calderón and the driver Jhon de Jesús Reales Barrera, detained two days later.
Diego Fernando Veloza Duque also appears, along with community broadcasters William del Carmen Mora Trujillo and María Zulay Ropero, as well as Dutch journalists Derk Johannes Bolt and Eugenio Ernest Marle Follender, kidnapped in June 2017.
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The Prosecutor’s Office highlighted that this ruling represents historic progress in the fight against impunity and sends a strong message in defense of press freedom and journalistic practice in conflict zones.
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