The Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court confirmed that it has already resolved the appeal of the ruling that sentenced the former president to 12 years of house arrest.
News Colombia.
The Superior Court of Bogotá confirmed this Tuesday that it has already made a decision in the second instance within the judicial process being carried out against the former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, for the crimes of procedural fraud and bribery of witnesses. The determination comes after several weeks of deliberation in Criminal Chamber number 19, in charge of resolving the appeal to the first instance ruling that, last August, had sentenced the former president to 12 years of house arrest.
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Although the court confirmed having adopted a decision, the content of the ruling has not yet been publicly revealed. It is expected that in the coming days the official reading will be scheduled in which it will be known whether the sentence imposed on Uribe is ratified, modified or revoked. This reading will be carried out before the procedural parties, including the defense of the former president, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Ministry.
Judicial sources indicated that the court resolved the appeal just before the case approached the statute of limitations, which would have meant the closure of the process without a substantive ruling. The decision, therefore, marks a key milestone in an investigation that has been one of the most high-profile and controversial in the recent judicial history of Colombia.
The case dates back to 2018, when the Supreme Court of Justice began an investigation against Álvaro Uribe for alleged attempts to tamper with witnesses in processes related to paramilitarism. Subsequently, after his resignation from the Senate, the file passed into the hands of the Attorney General’s Office and then to the ordinary justice system, where the trial that led to his initial conviction took place.
So far, former President Uribe has not issued an official statement on the court’s decision. However, his lawyers have reiterated that they trust that the second instance will overturn the conviction, arguing that the process was “flawed from its origin” and that Uribe “never tried to bribe witnesses.” For their part, the complainants have insisted on the importance of maintaining the conviction as a precedent for judicial independence.
With the resolution of the Superior Court of Bogotá, the case enters its final phase within the ordinary justice system. The public reading of the ruling will be decisive in knowing the judicial fate of the former president and, incidentally, will mark a turning point in the political history of Colombia, in which Uribe continues to be a central figure for both his followers and his detractors.
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