These mass killings, which took place mostly between 2002 and 2008, became known as the “false positives” scandal. Now, a group of human rights lawyers and relatives of the victims are seeking to try Colombia’s former President Álvaro Uribe in Argentine courts over the killings. The plaintiffs chose Argentina because it’s a Spanish-speaking country with broad universal jurisdiction laws and a track record of prosecuting human rights crimes. While universal jurisdiction laws exist in several countries, they often require some kind of connection with the nation — Germany’s universal jurisdiction requires that the accused be resident in the country, for example. Human rights investigations conducted while Uribe was still in office demonstrate that he knew the mass killings were taking place.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald December 16, 2023 09:55 UTC