Homeless man burnt to death in Colombia

Bogota, May 15 (IANS/EFE) A homeless man was killed in Bogota by attackers who first doused him with gasoline while he was asleep and then set him on fire, Colombian authorities said.

The attack occurred May 2 and the victim, Marco Tulio Sevillano, died a few days later in a hospital as a result of the burn injuries he suffered.

Police are investigating the possibility that his killers were either soccer hooligans or members of a neo-Nazi group.

Colombian Ombudsman Jorge Armando Otalora asked the police and the prosecutors to give priority to the investigation of the "atrocious act".

"It is necessary to identify those responsible and bring them to justice so that there may be no impunity," said Otalora in a communique Wednesday, adding that in Colombia, human rights should prevail without regard for the social, economic and cultural situation of the citizens.

Students at the Universidad Javeriana, near where the attack occurred, said that Sevillano was well known in the area, where he had lived for years with a dog and two cats, who were also burnt alive.

Some of the Javeriana students, who knew Sevillano, plan to hold a symbolic funeral for him and demanded that the authorities find those who are responsible for his murder.

"We called him warm-hearted because he treated everyone with affection," a university student told EFE.

--IANS/EFE

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