By Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - A peace tribunal sentenced five retired Colombian Army members on Friday to up to 6-1/2 years of reparations work for their role in the killing and disappearance of 35 civilians between 2002 and 2006.
The crimes are part of a "false positives" scandal in which military personnel killed civilians and falsely reported them as guerrillas killed in combat during Colombia's decades-long internal armed conflict, which killed more than 450,000 people and displaced millions.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a transitional justice court created in 2016 and tasked with investigating crimes committed during the internal conflict, imposed the sentences after the former soldiers admitted responsibility for the crimes and provided authorities with information, the court said in a statement.
The crimes occurred between 2002 and 2006 in the rural area of Dabeiba, in the northwestern department of Antioquia.
The information provided by the two majors, a captain, sergeant and corporal led to the recovery of 77 bodies, of which 18 have been identified and 17 returned to families.
The reparations include road and bridge reconstruction, humanitarian work and searches for disappeared people, the court said.
Colombia's Truth Commission has estimated that 8,208 people were victims of extrajudicial executions by the military between 1978 and 2016.
About 4,000 members of the security forces of all ranks, including 17 generals, have participated in the JEP's investigations into "false positives" and forced disappearances.
Former guerrilla commanders, military personnel, and civilians who collaborate with the JEP investigations and reveal the full truth about their involvement in criminal acts may be sentenced to up to eight years of reparations. Those who do not fully cooperate may face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
Dozens of army personnel have been arrested and convicted of "false positive" crimes under the regular justice system, and some of the victims — whose remains have not been returned to their families — are considered missing.
The JEP is investigating more than 250,000 crimes related to the internal armed conflict.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Writing by Iñigo Alexander, Editing by Rod Nickel)
