Colombian former President Álvaro Uribe was found on Monday guilty of the abuse of the process and bribery of a public official in a long -term witness, the first time the former Colombian president was sentenced to court.
Judge Sandra Lilian Heredia gave a judgment in court and acquired URIBE of the third accusation related to bribery.
The decision that URIBE is probably challenging by the dismissal is the latest development in a deeply political legal battle that has been extended for over 13 years.
Monday’s verdict comes after a court, which lasted six months, in the Colombian capital Bogoty.
The prosecutors submitted evidence that the former president used his power to influence witnesses who accused him of having links to the paramilitary group -founded rancher at the age of 90.
Each accusation carries a prison from six to 12 years. Heredia is expected to condemn Uribe in a later hearing.
“Justice is kneeling in front of power,” Heredia said on Monday morning before she spent about nine hours reading her decision. “It’s in the service of the Colombian people.”
“We want to say Colombia that justice has come,” she said, adding that her complete decision was about 1,000 pages.
Uribe reacts, the US defends former Pres
Uribe (73 years) and his supporters say that the process is persecution and that he is innocent. His critics celebrated it as a well -deserved fall for a man who was repeatedly accused of close relations with violent right -wing armic organizations, but he was never convicted of any crime.
Uribe and one of his lawyers, Jaime Granados, joined hearing through a video link, while another lawyer Jaime Lombana appeared personally.
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Granados said that Uribe’s innocence should be maintained and asked him to stay free during the rest of the process, the decision of Heredit said he would accept on Friday.
Both critics and former president supporters gathered in court, with some Uribe’s sports mask supporters.
Uribe’s court caused sharp criticism from US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio before the judge’s decision. Uribe had a close relationship with the US during his two term as president.
“Uribe’s only crime was tirelessly to fight and defend his homeland. The weapon of judges in Colombia by radical judges has now set disturbing,” Rubio said on X.
“The decision against the former president could provoke some kind of retaliation on Monday,” said Banco de Bogot on Monday, referring to the proposal of US Republican legislator Mario Diaz-Balart to reduce non-military assistance next year, partly concerns about violations in the case of Uribe.
Uribe’s punishment
Although the belief is eventually confirmed, Uribe may be allowed to perform his sentence in house arrest because of his age.
Uribe, which was president from 2002 to 2010 and supervised the military offensive against left -wing guerrilla groups, was investigated together with several allies over the accusations of manipulating the witness in an effort to discredit that he had links to paramilitary.
The judges twice rejected the prosecutors’ requests to postpone the case that in 2012 stems from Uribe’s accusation that the left -wing senator Ivan Cepeda organized a plot to connect it to paramilitary means.
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In 2018, the Supreme Court stated that Cepeda had gathered information from former fighters in its work and did not pay nor pushed the former half. Instead, the court said it was Uribe and his allies who were pushing witnesses.
Cepeed personally attended hearing with his council.
Uribe, which was included in the 2020 for two months, is the head of the mighty Party of the Democratic Center and was a senator for years before and after his chairmanship.
He repeatedly emphasized that he had issued a paramilitary leader to the United States.
The Colombian Committee for Truth says that the paramilitary groups that demobilized more than 205,000 people killed almost half of the 450,000 deaths recorded during the ongoing civil conflict.
Palamilitaria, along with guerrilla groups and members of the armed forces, also committed forced disappearances, sexual violence, displacement and other crimes.
Uribe joined the list of Latin American leaders who were convicted and sometimes imprisoned, including Peru Albert Fujimori, Brazilian Luiz Lu Silva, Ecuadorian Rafael Correa, Argentinian Cristina Fernandez and Panama’s Ricardomartinelli.
(Tagtentranslate) Álvaro Uribe
