The Chamber for Defining Legal Situations of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has determined that Salvatore Mancuso, former paramilitary leader, did not meet the necessary requirements for granting early release. Given this decision, Mancuso’s defense plans to appeal the determination of the transitional justice court.
Juan Carlos Villamizar, Mancuso’s legal advisor, announced the appeal, arguing that the Definition Chamber has granted freedoms in cases with “less strict requirements” than those already met by his client. “We are facing a situation in which there are evidently no guarantees and, therefore, we are going to appeal that decision and present in a well-founded and detailed manner the arguments we have to believe that Mr. Mancuso is entitled to the benefit of conditional release.” Villamizar declared to Blu Radio.
#Attention | The JEP determined not to grant, for now, transitional, conditional and early freedom to Salvatore Mancuso, given that he still does not meet the necessary requirements for the Chamber for Definition of Legal Situations to grant this benefit. pic.twitter.com/pxQVcoWNRT
— Special Jurisdiction for Peace (@JEP_Colombia) April 16, 2024
However, the JEP considered that Mancuso does not meet the necessary requirements for the Legal Situations Definition Chamber to grant this benefit. The Chamber explained that it must first take into consideration the revocation of freedom related to at least 2,600 facts against Mancuso in Justice and Peace, as well as the decisions on his freedom adopted by that court.
Given the decision, Mancuso’s advisor pointed out that “we are talking about a person who has completed his sentence and there is no justification for him to continue being deprived of his liberty, and to this day there is no judge who makes that decision for an issue.” of competition; Therefore, a person who should not be in such a situation remains deprived of liberty.”
Villamizar highlighted that the former paramilitary chief was appointed peace manager by the Government to carry out a task of vital importance in the country’s peace agenda, an element that the Definition Chamber also did not take into account. Furthermore, he explained that the benefit of transitional freedom is not an automatic right and is a “transitional benefit that is always subject to various requirements that condition it and that must be met within the framework of the law.”