A/HRC/45/CRP.11 367. In the cases of military officers tried in military tribunals, the cases investigated by the Mission were mostly divided between the Third Military Court of Control under Judge Captain Mikel Amezquita Pion and the First Military Court of Control under Major Claudia Pérez De Mogollón. Military judge Mariela Acevedo Santafe was involved in a number of cases against protesters and political opposition members (such as Gilber Caro and Steyci Escalona). She later took refuge in Colombia, reportedly for being tired of living in fear and under continuous pressure. 841 Military Personnel Tried in Civilian Courts 368. The Mission has documented the practice of trying in civilian courts military and former military officers involved in political cases and allegedly responsible of military crimes, notably as of 2018. 369. The Mission documented at least 20 other military and former military officers tried in civilian courts, accused of one or more of the following crimes: treason, terrorism, possession of weapons of war, incitement to rebellion and criminal association. This includes the magnicide case in 2018 (drone attack involving six military and former military officers); Operation Constitution in January 2019 (alleged conspiracy and assassination attempts against the President, involving five military or former military officers); and Operation Freedom, related to the events in April 2019 (involving 9 military officers). The Mission examined the prosecutions against Coronels José Rommel Acevedo Montañez and Oswaldo Valentin García Palomo as case studies. 370. The officers were presented to the First Instance Special Court of Control No. 1 with Jurisdiction at National Level on Terrorism issues, under Judge Carol Padilla. According to the information received by the Mission, the reason for this was twofold: (1) to make sure that they were tried before ‘loyal’ courts; and (2) to provoke an additional punishment, given that military officers reportedly feel diminished for being prosecuted by civilian judges. 842 As an additional sanction, military officers involved in these proceedings have been expelled from the FANB while their cases are still under investigation. Failure to Investigate Torture Allegations 371. In all cases investigated related to military officers, judicial authorities refused to order investigations into allegations of torture. This was despite victims either appearing in court with clear marks of mistreatment or expressly stating during hearings that they had been tortured or requested a medical examination. In some cases, medical examinations were ordered, but in the cases investigated, only once the marks of torture were no longer present. In several cases, the judges ordered that the accused be returned to the place where they claimed to have been tortured, usually DGCIM Boleíta. 843 372. Similarly, when habeas corpus or official complaints of torture or enforced disappearances have been presented to the Public Prosecutor’s Office or brought to the 841 842 843 tribunals and to fair trial, CCPR/C/GC/32, para. 22; See also Rodríguez Vera y otros Vs. Colombia, judgmenet of 14 November 2014, para. 442; and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers report to the General Assembly A/68/285 (2013). See also InterAmerican Court of Human Rights, Case Palamara-Iribirarne v. Chile, judgment of 22 November 2005, paras. 256, 257 and 269.14, available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_135_ing.pdf; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Case Castillo Petruzzi ed Al. judgment of 30 May 1999, paras. 128-124, available at: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/44e494cb4.pdf; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Case CestiHurtado v. Peru, judgment of 29 September 1999, para. 148, available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_56_ing.pdf. See Control Cuidadano, ‘Jueza militar pidió perdón a Gilber Caro por procesarlo pese a ser inocente’, https://www.controlciudadano.org/noticias/jueza-militar-pidio-perdon-a-gilber-caro-por-procesarlopese-a-ser-inocente; and EVTV Miami, Gilbert Caro: “Una cosa es venganza y otra hacer justicia”, 2 October 2018, available at: https://evtvmiami.com/gilbert-caro-una-cosa-es-venganza-y-otra-hacerjusticia/ Interview with C1HH04 in June 2020. Including Case 13: Captain Luis de la Sotta. 95