While the hearing takes place, followers and detractors of the former president confront each other online with messages of support and rejection.
News Colombia.
The Colombian justice system is experiencing a key day this Tuesday, October 21, with the reading of the second instance ruling in the trial against former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, convicted in the first instance for alleged bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud. The Superior Court of Bogotá advances the hearing that will define whether the decision to preclude the case is maintained or if, on the contrary, it acquits the former president.
See: They gave the time and date for reading the ruling in the second instance in the Álvaro Uribe Vélez case
Uribe, who was the first former Colombian president to face criminal proceedings against him, has reiterated his innocence on multiple occasions and has described the case as political persecution. The defense maintains that there is no evidence that directly links him to the manipulation of witnesses and has insisted that the judicial proceedings against him have been motivated by ideological interests.
The process originated after a complaint that Uribe himself filed in 2012 against Senator Iván Cepeda, whom he accused of manipulating witnesses against him. However, the Supreme Court of Justice ended up opening an investigation into the former president after finding indications that, in reality, people close to him had tried to influence witnesses to discredit Cepeda.
This Thursday’s decision takes on special political relevance, as it could impact not only the image of the former president, but also the panorama of Uribism in the face of the next elections. If the preclusion is revoked, Uribe would once again be formally investigated, which would open a new judicial chapter in his career.
Follow the reading of the second instance ruling in the Álvaro Uribe Vélez case below:
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