Mr. Urán Rojas in order to establish what happened to this presumed victim. Lastly, it will
analyze the alleged violations of the American Convention owing to these acts.
B.2.a) Indications of the possible death of Carlos Horacio Urán Rojas
inside the Palace of Justice
332. The case file contains statements by individuals who were also in the bathroom
between the second and third floors where Mr. Urán Rojas was, who asserted that Mr. Urán
Rojas died during the taking and retaking of the building. Thus, Luis Camargo González,
judicial assistant of the Second Section of the Council of State, Luz Lozano de Murillo, a
State Councilor’s aide, and Aydée Anzola Linares, State Councilor, testified that Mr. Urán
Rojas died in the bathroom, although they did not describe how. 506 Also, in 1985, State
Councilor Samuel Buitrago Hurtado testified that, following an explosion against one of the
walls of the bathroom, “[s]omeone shouted that the hostages should come out,” and Carlos
Horacio Urán Rojas went out and fell down “killed by the bullets.” 507 However, in 2007, Mr.
Buitrago Hurtado testified before the Prosecution Service that, following the explosion, he
saw Carlos Horacio Urán Rojas fall but that “he could not be sure whether he was alive or
dead.” 508
333. In addition, the case file contains a documentary video in which Humberto Murcia
Ballén states that he met Carlos Horacio Urán Rojas “on a stairway, trying to escape when
suddenly […] a grenade exploded and [Mr. Urán Rojas] said to [him], Humberto, I’ve been
hit, I’ve been hit. [Then he said that he was dying,] he put his head down and died while
[he] was holding him in [his] arms.” 509 Similarly, a first instance judgment against eight
members of the M-19 convicted them of the aggravated murder of several persons,
including Carlos Horacio Urán Rojas (supra paras. 199 and 207). This judgment concluded
that the death of Mr. Urán Rojas “occurred outside the bathroom, because pieces of a
fragmentation grenade were found in his body [and grenades …] were not used inside the
bathroom, only outside it.” 510 This decision did not consider or reject the hypothesis that
Mr. Urán Rojas survived these events and was executed subsequently and, therefore, the
wife of Carlos Horacio Urán Rojas filed an application for amparo, which was denied in first
instance and, according to the information received, is still pending a decision on appeal
(supra para. 200).
334. A judicial inspection made by the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the bathroom where
Mr. Urán Rojas had been hiding determined that the “injuries from an explosive
fragmentation device [found on his body] lead to the supposition that his death must have
506
Cf. Testimony of Luis Camargo Gonzalez of November 28, 1985, before the 30th Criminal Investigation Court
(evidence file, folios 30627 and 30628); Testimony of Luz Lozano de Murillo of November 23, 1985, before the 30th
Criminal Investigation Court (evidence file, folios 30635 to 30637), and Testimony of Aydée Anzola Linares of
December 5, 1985, before the 27th Criminal Investigation Court (evidence file, folios 30642 and 30644).
507
Testimony of Samuel Buitrago Hurtado of November 20, 1985, before the Special Investigative Court (evidence
file, folio 30623).
508
The Court notes that the representatives provided a document with the statement made that day by Mr. Buitrago
Hurtado, but did not provide a copy of the video in which, according to their arguments, Mr. Buitrago Hurtado said
what it indicated above. However, the State did not deny that the 2007 testimony of Mr. Buitrago Hurtado contained
this clarification, and the Prosecution Service before whom this statement was given confirmed what the
representatives had indicated during the public hearing on the merits in this case. Cf. Record of the hearing in which
the testimony of Samuel Buitrago Hurtado was received by the Prosecution Service on October 11, 2007 (evidence
file, folios 22309 and 22310); brief of the Corporación Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo of November 20,
2007 (evidence file, folio 22313), and Testimony of Ángela María Buitrago Ruíz during the public hearing on the merits
in this case.
509
Testimony of Humberto Murcia Ballén in the documentary entitled “La Toma,” directed by Angus Gibson and
Miguel Salazar, 2011 (evidence file, folio 3552).
510
Judgment of the Second Criminal Court of the Bogota Special Circuit of April 2, 2013 (evidence file, folio 35044).
116
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