The Colombian president Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested the Supreme Court of Justice that allows him to face the judicial process in freedom while appealing the sentence of 12 years of house prison that Judge Sandra Heredia issued against him last week for bribery to witnesses and procedural fraud, reported international press agencies.
Through a guardianship action, Uribe asks his fundamental rights to the presumption of innocence, freedom and due process, which according to their defense were violated by ordering their immediate arrest.
Uribe, the first former president condemned under house arrest
Uribe, one of the most rancid referents of the Colombian right and president between 2002 and 2010, became the first ex -president convicted in Colombia.
The ruling imposed twelve years in house prison, a fine of more than 3,400 million pesos (about 823 360 US dollars) and the inability to exercise public office for more than eight years.
From the reading of the sentence, Uribe remains under arrest in his farm in Rionegro, Antioquia while the country remains expectant.
The reasons for the judge and the response of the defense
Judge Heredia justified the immediate deprivation of liberty stating that Uribe “can easily abandon the country to avoid the sanction imposed,” in reference to its high international profile and resources. His arrest is necessary, he said, to “ensure peaceful coexistence among citizens.” He also argued that the defense would have used dilatory tactics during the trial.
However, Uribe’s lawyers argue that the former president always appeared to the hearings, even without being obliged, and that he has never given indications of seeking to subtract justice. Therefore they consider that the supposed risk of escape lacks foundations.
“Ensuring the freedom of Álvaro Uribe Vélez until the appeal is resolved does not harm any third party or the process,” says the guardianship action presented to the Superior Court of Bogotá, the instance in charge of deciding both on the protection and on the appeal before October 16, date in which the case will prescribe if there is no decision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lvyq0lzney
The national debate: Risk of escape or exemplary sentence?
The decision to imprison Uribe, even without the conviction being firm, has generated an intense debate between jurists and public opinion.
While the judge argues that allowing the freedom of the ex -president would send a message of impunity and weaken the legitimacy of justice, its supporters and lawyers allege that the measure is an outrage at the beginning of presumption of innocence and an excessive use of the judiciary.
Independent jurists insist that the former president must continue in freedom since his conviction is only of first instance and there is no concrete danger of escape or affectation to the process, since all the evidence has already been collected.
The race against time and political scenario
The defense has a term until August 13 to present the appeal, and the Superior Court of Bogotá must decide on the guardianship presented and on the Fund of the appeal before October 16.
If the sentence is modified, it may finally rise to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Uribismo has announced mobilizations throughout the country for August 7 in defense of its leader, who denounces a political persecution and the instrumentalization of justice by rival forces, especially from leftist sectors in the government.
The outcome of this judicial process will mark a before and after in the contemporary history of Colombia, both for its influence on institutional credibility and for the impact on future pending investigations against the ex -president, related to paramilitarism and human rights violations.
Uribe, criminal file
During and after his government, various human rights organizations, journalists and judicial testimonies have already pointed to Uribe their environment for alleged links with paramilitarism.
He is attributed to have promoted, when he was governor of Antioquia (1995-1997), the surveillance cooperatives known as living together, which would then have served as legal facade for the expansion of paramilitary groups in the region
Judicial decisions have documented how paramilitary leaders benefited from these schemes by receiving legal status, cards and teams that were then used to commit crimes and coordinate armed actions.
Testimonies before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and previous sentences of the Supreme Court relate to Uribe and their brother, Santiago Uribe, with the conformation and financing of paramilitary structures such as the Metro block, which committed crimes against humanity.
In addition, judicial investigations detail that behind massacres such as El Aro and La Granja, perpetrated during their governorate, there were facilities granted by public officials to the paramilitary operation. Although Uribe has not been criminally convicted of these crimes, there is a previous investigation in the process of the Supreme Court.
For others, between 2002 and 2008, during its presidency, at least 6,400 extrajudicial executions were reported, known as “false positives”: civilians falsely presented as guerrillas dead in combat in order to show military results and receive prebendas.
International and national organizations have pointed out these practices as one of the greatest human rights violations committed by the Colombian State during the 21st century.
