Amicus Brief of the American Bar Association Presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Case of Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera and others (“Palace of Justice”) v. Colombia.

This case arises out of a November 1985 hostage taking that occurred during the internal armed conflict that has raged in Colombia for several decades. In November 1985, members of a guerilla group took control of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia, holding hostage approximately 350 judges, public servants, workers, and visitors. When government security forces sought to regain control of the Palace of Justice, a number of judges, civilians, and guerillas were killed. 

The brief argues that the alleged failure of the State of Colombia to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the torture, disappearance and extrajudicial killing of hostages taken at the Palace of Justice –including a magistrate – violates the American Convention on Human Rights and that the government has an obligation to protect the lawyers, prosecutors and judges working on these cases.(English)