Clashes between Esmad and students of the Pedagogical and District

In the afternoon of today, Thursday, March 31, there were clashes between the mobile riot squadron and students in the vicinity of the Pedagogical University in Bogotá.

According to information from Semana, students from the Pedagogical University protested to demand improvements for the entity, such as the conditions in the restaurant and budget for hiring workers.

According to preliminary information, the students were holding a sit-in around the university, affecting mobility in the area, so Esmad intervened and that was when the clashes broke out.

The mobilization took place throughout the sector near the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and later clashes with the Public Force began, which resulted in the closure of this section of 72nd street in Bogotá. Likewise, at the height of race 11 there were also road closures due to the clashes, where the Public Force to attend to the situation.

After several hours of fighting, mobility has already been restored in this sector of the city.

On the other hand, to the south of the capital, in the town of Ciudad Bolivar, there were also clashes between protesters and the Police and Esmad near the Candelaria La Nueva headquarters of the District University. These caused closures on Avenida Villavicencio.

“There is a demonstration, outside the service in the town of Ciudad Bolívar at the height of the District University. Authorities make diversions for the system fleet and private vehicles,” TransMilenio reported on the road closures that occurred in the sector due to the disturbances.

The Bogotá High Court upheld the sentence of 17 years and 4 months in prison for Esmad police officer Néstor Julio Rodríguez for the murder of 15-year-old Nicolás Neira during labor day demonstrations on May 1, 2005.

The defence sought to declare the proceedings null and void on the grounds that the ordinary justice system lacked jurisdiction and an alleged violation of due process and right of defense of the accused.

However, Judge José Urbano denied the defense's request, relying on the Constitutional Court's ruling on the case of Dylan Cruz, which transferred the Military Criminal Justice process to ordinary jurisdiction.

In his decision, Judge Urbano stated that in “the SU-190 judgment of 2021, that corporation ordered that the criminal proceedings against the national police officer be transferred to ordinary jurisdiction. As can be seen, the situation is clear, not only is there a decision, but there is a unified judgment of the Constitutional Court that reaffirms that criterion.”

In response to the second request of the defense, the Chamber stated that the defence had about one year and ten months from the filing of the indictment, with knowledge of the prosecution's evidence to defend the accused at the preparatory hearing.

“If the defence chose not to exercise the guarantees derived from the right of defense during the process, such as deploying an act of investigation, that action corresponded to the strategy for which it opted, but it does not entail the violation of due process,” said Urbano.

It is worth remembering that, according to Medicina Legal, the projectile, which was fired linearly and directly by the policeman, hit the head of young Nicolás, causing serious injuries that, five days later, would die as a result of craniocerebral trauma.

KEEP READING: