MSPs and trade unionists gathered in Holyrood on Wednesday to hear from those who had lost loved ones to Colombia’s murderous military.

The event, hosted by socialist MSP Mercedes Villalba and chaired by Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) activist Andrene Bamford, heard from Rubiela Geraldo and Jacqueline Castillo, whose son and brother had been killed as so-called “false positives.”

Part of the Mothers of the False Positives (MAFAPO) collective, they told of how the Colombian army’s perverse system of incentives to kill guerilla fighters had not only led to the murder of thousands of militants, but the kidnapping, torture and execution of more than 6,400 innocent people.

Their loved ones had been lured away on a promise of work, but like the thousands of the army’s other victims, then disappeared for years only to be found in mass graves.

Ms Geraldo and Ms Castillo’s bravery in their 15-year battle for justice was saluted by EIS, RMT, CWU and Unison trade unionists, as well as by international Catholic peace movement Pax Christi, which pledged its continuing support and best wishes to the pair as they continue MAFAPO’s awareness-raising tour around Europe.