Riots of 2021 in Colombia: in Cali, a "people's court" makes its recommendations
Aerial view of the slum of Siloé, in Cali, Colombia, in May 2022. AFP - RAUL ARBOLEDA
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In Colombia, the "people's court" of Siloé delivered its verdict on Monday, February 20.
This body, created in a poor district of the city of Cali, aims to obtain justice for the victims of police repression during the anti-government demonstrations of 2021. It was set up by the population outside the judicial system, because almost two years later, the judicial investigations progress slowly.
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A symbolic tribunal to remedy the shortcomings of ordinary justice.
Several international magistrates accompanied the process for several months.
This Monday, they made the trip to Cali before delivering the verdict.
Italia is the mother of a young man killed in 2021 during anti-government protests.
"
The young people, the people who went to protest, did it to claim a right and it was not the right way to end a social movement,"
she explains.
My son, like many others, may have had nothing to do with any of this, and they had no right to take their life.
»
Few police officers are prosecuted.
But this people's court finds local and federal authorities guilty of human rights violations.
He advocates the establishment of an independent commission to investigate these facts.
It also insists on the prohibition of repressive methods that can cause the death of demonstrators.
And finally calls for strengthening the training of law enforcement, with particular attention to racial and gender issues.
►Read again: Riots of 2021 in Colombia: in Cali, a people's court to compensate for the delays in ordinary justice
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