Prosecutor Ricardo Perciballespecialized in Crimes Against Humanityhas asked the court to call former vice president Lucía Topolansky to testify. This comes after his recent statements about falsehoods in cases related to crimes committed by the military during the last Uruguayan dictatorship. Topolansky spoke about these issues in a recent book by journalist Pablo Cohen.
In the book titled The indomitable, Topolansky mentions that within the investigations of cases of the dictatorship, there are “people who lie in their statements.” He recounts a situation where a colleague was urged to lie about the facts, which he rejected. According to Topolansky, these actions generated accusations of betrayal towards members of the National Liberation Movement – Tupamaros (MLN-T).
They accuse other sectors of the left of falsifying data
Topolansky maintained that they know who those who lied within the left are, but they prefer to remain silent. “We are not traitors or buttons,” he said, reiterating his position regarding the accusations. Her husband, former president José Mujica, supported these statements during an interview, acknowledging that there were cases of falsehoods after living experiences of great resentment.
Mujica’s support added notoriety to the issue. According to him, although these statements are not generalized, there is a recognition that there were specific situations where the facts were distorted. “Not all, but I know there were cases,” he said, highlighting the complexity of the experiences after the dictatorship.
Impact on the prosecution and possible review of cases
Given these statements, the Attorney General’s Office responded with a statement. They highlighted that since the creation of the Prosecutor’s Office in 2018, multiple prosecutions and convictions have been carried out. In addition, they have archived several cases due to lack of sufficient evidence, ensuring that all defendants have had the guarantees of the rule of law.
Prosecutor Perciballe reaffirmed in his defense that the victims have expressed the truth in the cases in which the Prosecutor’s Office has worked. He rejected any idea of conspiracy to harm innocent people. Despite that, he decided to ask the court to summon Topolansky as witness to clarify your statements in the shortest possible time.
Legal reactions and possible reopenings of cases
The lawyer Emilio Mikolicrepresentative of the Military Center, indicated that they could seek to reopen cases already sentenced and review others in process, based on the statements of Mujica and Topolansky.
They consider that their comments are new information that could influence the review of these cases regarding the period of state terrorism. Mikolic underlines the importance of these statements, considering that they could change the direction of certain investigations.
