The sentence for all will be eight years of penal labor, announces a special court, which was established in 2016 in connection with the peace agreement between Farc and the Colombian state.
This means that the convicted rebel leaders will have to help with the work of finding the bodies of people who are still missing, clearing landmines and participating in other efforts to make amends with their victims.
The verdict does not erase the suffering of the victims. But it is a voice that acknowledges that what they went through was unfair and inhumane, says the chief judge Camilo Suárez.
The verdict is the first that the peace court JEP announces. The legal case in question has taken seven years. Those who are brought before the court have accepted the charges and cooperated with the investigation. If not, the defendants risk long prison sentences instead of labor.
The crimes were committed during the guerrilla's 50-year-long conflict with the state.
In total, the verdict covers 21,396 kidnappings. The victims were civilians, soldiers and politicians who were taken away for the purpose of being exchanged for ransom or imprisoned guerrilla members.
Among the affected is the French-Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was taken away in 2002 and held captive in the jungle for six years.
