FARC rebels flogged by Colombian tribe

Colombian tribal leaders have sentenced three suspected FARC rebels and an accomplice to a public flogging for disrupting the "harmony" of the community.

About 1,000 elders and residents of the Nasa reserves in the Cauca province made the decision unanimously to subject the minor defendant to 10 lashes on his legs and the three adults to 30 lashes each on their legs, according to EFE. All four defendants are Nasa who decided to join the FARC.

The defendants' hearing was part of a push by the indigenous tribe to get FARC rebels and government forces off their land, reported Al Jazeera. The Nasa people have said they are tired of being caught in the crossfire of Colombia's seemingly never-ending conflict.

The Nasa, also known as the Paez, do not consider this type of solution as a punishment, but rather as an option to harmonize their relationship with the community and with their spirit, according to EFE.

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Marcos Yule, the governor of the Toribio reservation, explained that punishments that are usually imposed under indigenous law are the "cepo," a wooden structure that presses on the legs or hands, temporary burial with only the head above ground, flogging, counseling and even exile.