False Combat Kills are Crimes by the State
Statement from the Encounter of Relatives of Victims of Extrajudicial Executions in Colombia
As the relatives of the victims of extrajudicial executions from different regions of the country gathered in the city of Bogotá on the 5th and 6th of March, 2009,
WE DECLARE:
1. That during this encounter we have shared the anguish and pain overwhelming us as relatives of those who have been deprived their lives due to the criminal action of the public force, and in particular the national army. We have found that throughout the country hundreds of crimes have been committed against men who tend to be less than 35 years old and come from the most excluded and grass roots sectors of society, which indicates this concerns a systematic and generalized practice and represents crimes against humanity, the responsibility for which falls on the Colombian State.