this into account when examining the State’s hypothesis in relation to these two presumed
victims.
286. Third, the Court underlies that, during the identification procedures conducted in
2007, the technology available allowed the images to be seen more clearly. 448 Thus, for
example, when observing the video obtained during the judicial inspection of the home of
the Commander of the Cavalry School, René Guarín declared that, of all “the videos [he
had] seen, [the video obtained during this inspection was] the sharpest, and [he had] never
seen such a clear video.” 449 Therefore, it is reasonable that identifications have been made
recently that were not made a short time after the events.
287. Fourth, in the case of Bernardo Beltrán Hernández, the Superior Court of Bogota
emphasized that he had been identified leaving the Palace of Justice on November 6 and on
November 7 (supra paras. 273 and 277), and therefore rejected both identifications. This
Court underlines that neither of these identifications, of itself, provides sufficient proof that
Mr. Beltrán Hernández left the Palace alive. However, it considers that regardless of which
one is true, they both constitute indications that Bernardo Beltrán Hernández left the Palace
alive and, as such, they will be taken into account to the extent that they are consistent
with the rest of the body of evidence and the other indications about his possible exit from
the Palace alive.
288. All the foregoing reveals that numerous doubts exist about the identifications made
based on video images. The Court does not have sufficient evidence to clear up these
doubts and, as established by the Superior Court of Bogota in the proceedings against the
Commander of the Cavalry School, the necessary evidence has not been produced to clarify
many of them (supra para. 274). The lack of sharpness, the distance, and the speed of the
takes, makes it difficult to discern with certainty the identity of the individuals that the
videos focus on. 450 However, despite these doubts, the Court cannot disregard the fact that
the family members or acquaintances of the presumed victims have identified, with
different degrees of certainty, six of the twelve presumed disappeared victims leaving the
Palace of Justice alive (Cristina del Pilar Guarín Cortés, Bernardo Beltrán Hernández, Gloria
Stella Lizarazo Figueroa, Lucy Amparo Oviedo Bonilla, Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera and
David Suspes Celis). Moreover, as established by a Chamber of the Superior Court, one of
the individuals observed in the videos could be Héctor Jaime Beltrán Fuentes. In addition,
during the events, the next of kin of another presumed victim heard on the television that
their relative had been rescued alive from the incident (Gloria Anzola de Lanao). The Court
underscores that, based on these identifications, as well as on the direct examination of the
videos, two chambers of the Superior Court of Bogota have established that there is no
doubt that Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera left the Palace alive, and one of them also
established, based on this evidence, that there is no doubt that Bernardo Beltrán Hernández
and David Suspes Celis also left the Palace alive. The Court considers that these
identifications in video images alone are not sufficient to prove with absolute certainty that
these persons left the Palace alive. However, they constitute an important indication that, to
the extent that they are supported by other elements or indications in the body of evidence,
could lead to this conclusion.
A.2.i) The possibility that the presumed victims died during the events
in the Palace of Justice
448
On this point, see, Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January 30, 2012 (evidence file, folios 23229,
23233 and 23234).
449
Cf. Statement of August 16, 2007, before the Prosecution Service of Sandra Beltrán Hernández and René Guarín
Cortes (evidence file, folio 1087).
450
On this point, see, Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January 30, 2012 (evidence file, folios 23220
and 23221).
102
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