E/CN.4/1995/111 page 11 percentage suffered other kinds of physical torture, such as being held under water, electric shocks, burning with acid, asphyxia caused by plastic bags being secured over the head, etc.; 136 were verbally abused and/or threatened with death, disappearance or other violations. 12/ The report also indicates that out of the 170, 97 persons reported the abuses they were victims of to some judicial authority or government control organism; 32 of them informed the Fiscalía in Barrancabermeja, but there is no evidence that this office has initiated any criminal investigation; 62 cases were reported to the Procuraduría, but only four resulted in the opening of a formal disciplinary investigation. 13/ The report also points out that the subjective responsibility of government agents in acts of torture is sometimes impossible to establish because they take part in torture sessions hooded or after placing hoods on their victims, or because they use methods which leave no marks on the body. On the other hand, there is no independent forensic body which could carry out investigations and collect evidence. 14/ The report further states that normally, if there are medical opinions verifying torture, a disciplinary investigation is begun by the office of the Provincial Procuraduría in Barrancabermeja and, because of the nature of the act in question, the case is referred to the Delegate for Human Rights. Many of these investigations do not result in sanctions of the individuals responsible because in the majority of cases it is impossible to individualize responsibility - it is clear that torture was carried out and that the army was responsible, but which individual members of the army were responsible cannot be determined. 15/ According to the Procurador Delegado for human rights, a situation similar to that described in this report seems to prevail also in the departments of Arauca, Santander, Norte de Santander and in the south of César. 31. Information received from non-governmental sources registered, for the period between January 1993 and March 1994, 654 executions preceded by torture. The corpses of the victims reportedly bore signs of different forms of torture: some were burnt, others presented injuries caused by acids or were mutilated. Women were frequently raped. In 20 per cent of these cases those responsible were identified as members of the armed forces (45 per cent), paramilitary forces (30 per cent) and guerrilla groups (9 per cent). 32. The reports received by the Special Rapporteurs clearly indicate that neither the security forces nor the armed insurgent groups show respect for the right to life and physical integrity in areas of armed conflict. On the contrary, the Special Rapporteurs received numerous reports about human rights violations by various military battalions and other units of the security forces based in zonas rojas. However, particular concern was expressed at the activities of the brigadas móviles (mobile brigades), established in the recent past. For example, Mobile Brigade No. 1 has been operating in the department of Meta and neighbouring Casanare and Boyacá since 1991, whereas Mobile Brigade No. 2 was established in 1993 in the Magdalena Medio region. These brigades are reported to patrol the country during extended periods, without having a permanent base, and the battalions which normally operate in the region do not consider themselves responsible for their activities. Members of mobile brigades are said to be accountable for a high number of enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. During their operations, mobile brigades reportedly do not wear

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