Communication No. 778/1997 Submitted by: José Antonio Coronel et al. (represented by Federico Andreu Guzmán) Alleged victim: Gustavo Coronel Navarro, Nahún Elías Sánchez Vega, Ramón Emilio Sánchez, Ramón Emilio Quintero Ropero, Luis Honorio Quintero Ropero, Ramón Villegas Tellez and Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio State party: Colombia Date of adoption of Views: 24 October 2002 Subject matter: Unlawful arrest and deprivation of life by State officials the region, making incursions into a number of neighbouring settlements and villages. During these operations, the soldiers raided several houses and arrested a number of people, including Ramón Villegas Téllez, Gustavo Coronel Navarro, Nahún Elías Sánchez Vega, Ramón Emilio Sánchez, Ramón Emilio Quintero Ropero and Luis Honorio Quintero Ropero. Both the raids and the arrests were carried out illegally, since the soldiers did not have the judicial warrants prescribed by Colombian law on criminal procedure to conduct searches or make arrests. Procedural issues: Undue delay in exhaustion of domestic remedies Substantive issues: Right to life - Torture - Unlawful arrest - Unlawful interference with victims’ homes Articles of the Covenant: 2, paragraph 3; 6, paragraph 1; 7; 9 and 17 Articles of the Optional Protocol: 5, paragraph 2 (b) 2.2 Ramón Villegas Téllez, Gustavo Coronel Navarro, Nahún Elías Sánchez Vega, Ramón Emilio Sánchez, Ramón Emilio Quintero Ropero, Luis Honorio Quintero Ropero and others were tortured by the soldiers, and some of them were forced to put on military uniforms and go on patrol with the members of the “Motilones” Anti-Guerrilla Batallion (No. 17). All of them were “disappeared” between 13 and 14 January 1993. 1. The authors of the communication are José Antonio Coronel, José de la Cruz Sánchez, Lucenid Villegas, José del Carmen Sánchez, Jesus Aurelio Quintero and Nidia Linores Ascanio Ascanio, acting on behalf of seven deceased family members: Gustavo Coronel Navarro, Nahún Elías Sánchez Vega, Ramón Emilio Sánchez, Ramón Emilio Quintero Ropero, Luis Honorio Quintero Ropero, Ramón Villegas Tellez and Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio, all Colombian nationals who died in January 1993.1 The authors of the communication claim that their relatives were victims of violations by Colombia of article 2, paragraph 3, article 6, paragraph 1, and articles 7, 9 and 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The authors are represented by counsel. 2.3 On 26 January 1993, Luis Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio, aged 16, disappeared while on his way home, abducted by soldiers who, a few days before, had raided the home of the Ascanio Ascanio family, ill-treating and harassing the family members, who included six minors and also a 22-year-old mentally deficient young man, whom they attempted to hang. The soldiers remained in the house until 31 January, holding its inhabitants hostage. Luis Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio was seen for the last time some 15 minutes away from the family home. On the same day, members of the Ascanio family heard shouts and shots coming from outside the house. On 27 January, two of the brothers of Luis Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio succeeded in evading the military guards and fled to Ocaña, where they advised the local authorities and submitted a complaint to the Provincial Office of the Attorney-General. Once the military patrol had withdrawn, the search for Luis Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio began; the outcome was the discovery of a pocket knife belonging to him some 300 metres away from the house. The facts as submitted by the authors 2.1 Between 12 and 14 January 1993, troops of the “Motilones” Anti-Guerrilla Batallion (No. 17), attached to the Second Mobile Brigade of the Colombian National Army, conducted a military operation in the indigenous community of San José del Tarra (municipality of Hacari, department of Norte Santander) and launched a search operation in 1 The authors’ relationship with the victims is as follows: José Antonio Coronel, father of Gustavo Coronel Navarro; José de la Cruz Sánchez, father of Nahún Elías Sánchez Vega; Lucenid Villegas, sister of Ramón Villegas Tellez; José del Carmen Sánchez, father of Ramón Emilio Sánchez; Jesus Aurelio Quintero, father of Ramón Emilio and Luis Honorio Quintero Ropero; Nidia Linores Ascanio Ascanio, sister of Luis Ernesto Ascanio Ascanio. 2.4 The Second Mobile Brigade reported various alleged armed clashes with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) the first on 13 January 1993, the second on 60