particular, the possible responsibility of the Commander of the Army’s 13th Brigade, “considering that he had been the officer in charge of the operation,” of the Colonel, Head of the B-2, who was in charge of “the intelligence operation implemented in the [Casa del Florero],” and also the then Director of the National Police, for possibly contravening an order of the Council of Ministers to suspend actions against the fourth floor. 205 F.1 Military criminal jurisdiction 163. In compliance with the decisions of the Special Investigative Court and despite the order of the 30th Itinerant Criminal Investigation Court (supra para. 162), the investigations to determine the lawfulness of the actions of the security forces were conducted by the military criminal jurisdiction. 206 Thus, on October 23, 1986, the Commander of the Army’s 13th National Brigade assumed responsibility for the investigations into the disappearance of Irma Franco Pineda and Clara Helena Enciso, and the death of the Supreme Court of Justice driver, José Eduardo Medina Garavito, by direct referral of the 14th Superior Court of Bogota, in accordance with the decision of the Special Investigative Court 207 (supra paras. 158 and 161). 164. The next of kin of Irma Franco Pineda filed a request to bring a civil suit in May 1987, which was not admitted because, under “military criminal law […] civil suits can only be brought in proceedings for ordinary offenses and not in those related to activities conducted in compliance with mandates inherent to the Armed Forces.” 208 165. The Commander of the 13th Brigade and the Colonel, Head of the B-2, were implicated during the proceedings. On May 12, 1992, the Commander of the Colombian Air Force (COFAC), acting as a first instance judge, decided to end the proceedings against the Commander of the 13th Brigade in relation to what happened on the fourth floor of the Palace of Justice, and in the bathroom located between the second and third floors, and to the supposed disappearance of three members of the guerrilla (unnamed), which, he considered, had not occurred. 209 166. In addition, regarding the Colonel, Head of the B-2, it was criminal action for the alleged torture to which Eduardo Matson Santodomingo Albericci had been subjected had prescribed and that the B-2, was not the perpetrator of those acts. It was also affirmed determined that the Ospino and Yolanda the Colonel, Head of that “it [was] certain 205 In relation to then Director of the National Police, the court ordered certified copies of the pertinent documents to be sent to the Supreme Court of Justice, “owing to the privileges due to his position at the time of the events.” Decision of the 30th Itinerant Criminal Investigation Court of January 31, 1989 (evidence file, folios 24268 to 24273 and 24297). On February 7, 1991, the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice ordered “the closure of the proceedings” instituted against the Director of the Police, owing to the statute of limitations. Cf. Decision of the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of February 7, 1991 (evidence file, folio 32076). 206 Cf. Report of the Truth Commission (evidence file, folios 284 and 285). 207 Cf. Order of the Command of the Army’s 13th National Brigade of October 23, 1986 (evidence file, folio 24739). 208 The next of kin appealed this decision but, according to the information received, the appeal was not granted. According to Federico Andreu Guzmán, the Code of Military Criminal Justice “established the possibility of the victims or their heirs filing a civil suit in the case of ordinary offenses and was prohibited in cases of strictly military offenses. However, the case law of the Military Superior Court and other organs of the military criminal jurisdiction excluded the possibility of filing a civil suit in the case of ordinary offenses committed during the course of duty.” Cf. Decision of the Command of the 13th Brigade of the National Army of May 23, 1987 (evidence file, folios 20512 and 20513); substantiation of the appeal filed before the Commander of the 13th Brigade of the National Army (evidence file, folio 22302), and written summary of expert witness Federico Andreu Guzmán (evidence file, folio 36370). 209 The Commander stated that the Commander of the 13th Brigade “did not commit or allow the perpetration of the wrongful acts of homicide that took place on the fourth floor of the Palace of Justice […]; nor did he commit or allow the perpetration of the homicides and personal injuries of the hostages and other captives who were found in the men’s bathroom located on the mezzanine between the second and third floors.” Cf. Judgment of the Commander of the Colombian Air Force of May 12, 1992 (evidence file, folios 1574, 1575, 1604 and 1605). 56