when they were transferred to the No. 13 Military Police Battalion located in the sector of
Puente Aranda in Bogota and from there to the Model Prison in Bogota, where he remained
until November 23, 1985. 586
383. The State challenged the credibility of the testimony of Mr. Rubiano Galvis pointing
out that there were inconsistencies in his statements with regard to the place where the
presumed torture took place. Above all, the State asserted that, in his statement of May
2007 before the Prosecution Service, first he said that the torture had taken place in the
stables, and later he indicated that he had been in an office in front of the stables “beside
the church.” In this regard, the Court notes that this confusion was clarified in the
statement of May 2007 and ratified in the 2009 statement. In the 2007 statement, Mr.
Rubiano Galvis clarified that he had “made a mistake” in his initial statement, and indicated
that the torture he had undergone in Bogota was in an “office beside the church” and
“afterwards, [they] were taken to the stables [and] there [they] were not beaten any
more”; and this is also consistent with what Mr. Rubiano Galvis testified before this
Court. 587
384. The Court finds it reasonable that the victims do not have a precise and meticulous
recollection of such facts, which they could find traumatic. A certain degree of disorientation
and imprecision are reasonable and do not disprove what the victims have indicated (supra
para. 378). The relevant point is that the statements are consistent as regards the main
facts that they narrate and include. Thus, this Court finds that the statements of Messrs.
Quijano and Rubiano Galvis reveal the facts described consistently; hence they provide an
additional indication of what happened to these presumed victims.
B.1.3) Considerations and determinations of the domestic judicial
authorities and the Truth Commission
385. The Court notes that different judicial authorities, investigation bodies and the Truth
Commission have accorded credibility to the events described by Yolanda Santodomingo
Albericci, Eduardo Matson Ospino, Orlando Quijano and José Vicente Rubiano Galvis and
have taken them into consideration when examining the practices to which those
considered “suspicious” were subjected following the retaking of the Palace of Justice. In
this regard, the Court recalls that it has found it proved that anyone regarding whom there
were doubts about their identity or the reason why they were in the Palace of Justice was
classified as “suspicious.” Also, their names were omitted from some of the lists of those
who were evacuated, they were taken to the second floor of the Casa del Florero to be
interrogated, transferred to military facilities without any record of where they were sent,
and some were subjected to ill-treatment, torture or forced disappearance (supra paras.
241, 244 to 249, and 250 to 254). The Court observes that a first instance court, in two
different decisions, the Superior Court of Bogota in one decision, and the Truth Commission
have all established that this was the situation of Yolanda Santodomingo Albericci, Eduardo
Matson Ospino and Orlando Quijano. 588
586
Cf. Testimony of José Vicente Rubiano Galvis of May 15, 2007, before the Prosecution Service (evidence file,
folios 1283, 1284 and 1287); Testimony of José Vicente Rubiano Galvis of August 22, 2007, before the Prosecution
Service (evidence file, folio 6790); Testimony of José Vicente Rubiano Galvis of June 2, 2009, before the 51st Criminal
Court of the Bogota Circuit (evidence file, folios 14656, 14657, 14659, 14662, 14664 and 14666); Affidavit made by
José Vicente Rubiano Galvis on November 5, 2013 (evidence file, folios 35620 and 35622), and certification issued by
the Judge Advocate (evidence file, folio 24151).
587
Cf. Testimony of José Vicente Rubiano Galvis of May 15, 2007, before the Prosecution Service (evidence file, folio
1287); Testimony of José Vicente Rubiano Galvis of June 2, 2009, before the 51st Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit
(evidence file, folios 14656, 14659 to 14660 and 14665), and Affidavit made by José Vicente Rubiano Galvis on
November 5, 2013 (evidence file, folio 35622).
588
Cf. Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January 30, 2012 (evidence file, folios 23354 and 23363);
Judgment of the 51st Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit of December 15, 2011 (evidence file, folio 20899);
133
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