(IPYS/IFEX) – On Wednesday 23 January 2002, the two alleged assassins of cameraman Luis Alberto Rincón and photographer Alberto Sánchez Tovar appeared at a public hearing before the Second Special Court, in the city of Bucaramanga, Santander department. According to information relayed to IPYS by journalists who covered the hearing, the two media professionals were […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On Wednesday 23 January 2002, the two alleged assassins of cameraman Luis Alberto Rincón and photographer Alberto Sánchez Tovar appeared at a public hearing before the Second Special Court, in the city of Bucaramanga, Santander department.
According to information relayed to IPYS by journalists who covered the hearing, the two media professionals were assassinated on 28 November 1999. At the time, they were on a rural road, heading back to Bucaramanga on motorcycle after reporting on a political rally in the Playón municipality.
The authorities were able to capture the two alleged assassins with the assistance of an informant, who stated that she was the girlfriend of a well-known paramilitary in the region, who goes by the nickname “Chejo”. According to the woman’s testimony, “Chejo” told her that the two individuals, who were collaborating with the guerilla, had to be “eliminated.” “Chejo” was arrested and detained at the Bucaramanga Modelo prison, where he was subsequently killed during a riot.
At the time of the assassination, alleged assassins Gregorio Castillo and Orlando Calderón had only recently retired from the National Army. Previously, they had been professional soldiers with the Los Juanes division, Fifth Brigade, based in Bucaramanga. The lawyers for the defense argued that the informant was not objective, as she denounced “Chejo” in retaliation for ending their romantic relationship. They also maintained that there were irregularities in the process when the informant was first questioned.
Castillo and Calderón are being tried for “aggravated homicide with terrorist aims”. After the public hearing, it will be up to the first instance judge to rule on the matter.
Following the assassination, President Andrés Pastrana sent a letter to the Public Prosecutor’s Office calling for an investigation into the incident so that this double murder does not remain impune.