Colombian court acquits Álvaro Uribe!
Bogotá, Oct 21 (EFE).—
The Bogotá High Court on Tuesday acquitted former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe (2002–2010) of criminal bribery charges, overturning the 12-year prison sentence handed by a lower court in August.
The ruling came after Uribe’s defense appealed the decision, which also included a charge of procedural fraud.
Reading the verdict, Judge Manuel Antonio Merchán said the court found no evidence that Uribe had instigated bribery during criminal proceedings.
“It was not proven, either directly or indirectly, that Álvaro Uribe induced the crime of bribery in a criminal case,” Merchán stated. “Therefore, the Chamber revokes the conviction imposed on Álvaro Uribe Vélez as the instigator of that crime.”
The acquittal relates to allegations that Uribe or his representatives pressured witnesses Carlos Enrique Vélez and Eurídice Cortés to change their testimony.
The tribunal has yet to issue its final ruling on a third person involved in the case, former paramilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve, who remains imprisoned.
Monsalve has accused Uribe of helping to create the Bloque Metro, a faction of the right-wing paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).
He also alleged that one of Uribe’s lawyers tried to pressure him in prison to retract a statement implicating the former president of having links with paramilitarism, accusations at the center of his long-running dispute with leftist senator Iván Cepeda.
Judges cite misapplication of “eventual intent”
Judge Merchán explained that the appellate court found a legal misinterpretation in the lower court’s ruling, issued by Judge Sandra Heredia of Bogotá’s 44th Criminal Circuit Court.
He said the first verdict incorrectly applied the concept of “dolus eventualis,” consequent deceit, when Colombian criminal law requires direct intent to establish the charge of instigation in bribery cases.
Uribe, founder and leader of the right-wing Democratic Center party, made history on Aug. 1 as the first former Colombian president ever convicted of a criminal offense. Heredia’s ruling at the time found him guilty of both procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings.
A decade-long case rooted in political rivalry
The legal battle dates back to 2012, when Uribe sued Senator Iván Cepeda before the Supreme Court, accusing him of manipulating witnesses while preparing a congressional complaint linking the former president to paramilitary groups.
The Supreme Court not only dismissed Uribe’s complaint but also launched an investigation into him, finding signs that witnesses were being manipulated to prevent links between Uribe and paramilitary activities from surfacing.
Uribe currently remains free, as the Supreme Court of Justice upheld in September a decision by the Bogotá High Court allowing him to stay out of custody until the verdict becomes final. EFE
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