Less than three percent of the investigations of murders committed in Colombia between January 2005 and May 2008 led to a conviction, a European study shows.
While in the researched period 62,737 murders were committed, only 1,699 cases (2.7 percent) led to a conviction, the European Union report says. The research was based on statistics by Colombia's Prosecutor General's Office.
According to the EU, the changes in the Colombian penal system that have been implemented over the past few years only increased the number of murderers that go unpunished. "Impunity before the current procedural system revolved around 95 percent. Now it is about 97 percent," the report says, concluding the situation in Colombia is "critical."
