In a landmark trial, former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe was found guilty of witness tampering and bribery, making him the first ex-president to be found guilty at trial.
In order to pressure three former paramilitary members who were in prison into changing the testimony they had given to Ivan Cepeda, a left-wing senator who had launched an investigation into Uribe’s alleged ties to a paramilitary group in the 1990s, the judge ordered on Monday that there was sufficient evidence.
The Supreme Court received a libel lawsuit against Cepeda in 2012 from the defendant, Uribe. The high court, however, dropped the charges against Cepeda and began an investigation of Uribe in 2018.
Uribe could receive a sentence in a separate hearing on Friday, which will determine his sentencing. He is anticipated to challenge the decision.
Critics of Uribe have praised his trial as the deserved overthrow of a man who has been repeatedly accused of having intimate relationships with violent right-wing paramilitaries but who has never been found guilty of a crime.
The former leader, 73, and his supporters claim innocence and that the procedure is a persecution.
Uribe and Jaime Granados, one of his attorneys, took the stage via videolink, and Jaime Lombana, another attorney, made an in person appearance.
Juan Felipe Amaya, a member of Uribe’s legal team, told reporters at the court that “this is not the end of this process,” that the appeal is coming up next.
Granados demanded that Uribe remain free for the duration of the investigation and that the presumption of his innocence be maintained.
Some Uribe supporters and detractors donned masks on their faces as they gathered outside the court.
Because of his age, Uribe may be able to serve his final sentence on house arrest even if the conviction is ultimately upheld.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Uribe’s case. In the two years he served as president, Uruguay established a close relationship with the US, just like right-wing governments frequently did in Latin America.
“Uribe’s only crime has been fighting and defending his homeland unwaveringly.” Radical judges’ use of the judicial branch in Colombia has created a worrying precedent, according to Rubio on X.
Leftist leader Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, defended the ruling, saying that “a strong justice system” will help the country overcome violence. Rubio was allegedly stifling Colombia’s sovereignty in another message, he added.
According to a note released on Monday, Banco de Bogota criticized a proposal by US Republican lawmaker Mario Diaz-Balart to cut non-military aid to Colombia next year, partly due to concerns about due process violations in the Uribe case.
Uribe, who served as a senator both before and after his presidency, is the party’s leader and is under house arrest for two months in 2020.
He has repeatedly emphasized that he has extradited US military leaders.
More than 205, 000 people were killed by paramilitary groups in Colombia, according to the Colombian truth commission, nearly half of the 450, 000 deaths recorded during the ongoing civil conflict.
Source: Aljazeera
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