A Colombian court on Tuesday convicted seven ex-leaders of the defunct Colombian guerrilla army FARC over the kidnappings of tens of thousands of people during the group's half-century of war with the state.
The court, set up under an historic 2016 peace agreement between the state and FARC, ordered the seven to make reparations by engaging in eight years of activities to promote reconciliation and preserve the victims' memories.
The former rebel leaders were also ordered to help locate missing victims of the conflict and carry out environmental work, among other methods of restorative justice.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace, known by its Spanish acronym JEP, took more than seven years to issue its findings against the leaders of FARC, a Marxist group that terrorized Colombia with a five-decade campaign of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings.
Seven former commanders, including FARC's last leader Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, alias Timochenko, were found guilty of 21,396 kidnappings.
The seven, who were found guilty of "war crimes, torture and cruel treatment," accepted responsibility for their acts, Judge Camilo Suarez told reporters in Bogota.
Their sentence is the maximum provided for under the peace deal.
- 'Open wounds' -
Suarez said that kidnapping "became a systematic practice" under FARC that left "open wounds that persist in families, in (rural) territories and in the daily life of the country."
The court added that the kidnap victims were mistreated and humiliated and that some were treated like slaves by the guerrillas.
Soldiers, police officers, businesspeople and political leaders were all nabbed by FARC and whisked off to bases deep in the jungle, where some were kept for years.
Among those abducted was French-Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was held for over six years in the jungle before being freed.
One person was held for 14 years, according to the JEP.
The court is expected to rule on other cases involving former FARC commanders as well as former members of the security forces accused of murdering civilians during the state's offensive against the guerrillas.
As part of the peace deal, FARC members agreed to confess to crimes and make reparations to the victims in exchange for being spared prison and being allowed to engage in politics.
Timochenko is currently the president of the Comunes party.
A number of politicians and paramilitaries accused of human rights abuses during the conflict have also confessed to their crimes.
The JEP's ruling comes as Colombia suffers its worst violence in a decade, with FARC dissidents who refused the peace deal and other armed groups stepping up their attacks on the state after the collapse of peace talks.
Over 130 soldiers and police were killed in such attacks between January and mid-August, defence ministry figures show.
In one of the worst recent attacks, conservative presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was shot in the head at a campaign event in June.
He died of his injuries two months later.
Police blamed his assassination on FARC dissidents.
