Colombia: the Disappeared of the Palace of Justice

1986

In 1985, a guerrilla group known as Movement of the 19th of April entered the Colombian Palace of Justice courthouse, kidnapping around three hundred and fifty magistrates, councilors, public judicial servants, and other employees and visitors. Members of the group, which formed in response to electoral fraud in 1970, were self-declared nationalists and socialists. The Colombian Army responded to the kidnappings by surrounding the courthouse. Over one hundred people were killed during the operation, including eleven of the hostages. Until two thousand, eleven individuals - comprising both members of the movement and hostages - were considered disappeared. This began a process of trying to uncover the whereabouts of other missing persons and trials to condemn the military officers involved in the attack. The magazine was produced by an organisation of the families of those disappeared a year after the events.

Senate House Library: H 320 PAM/2/09