Colombia court overturns ex-president Uribe’s conviction for bribery and witness tampering
Court cited ‘structural deficiencies’ in conviction of Alvaro Uribe, who remains a divisive figure in Colombia
An appeals court on Tuesday overturned the conviction of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe for bribery and witness tampering for which he had been sentenced to 12 years of house arrest.
Uribe, 73, has denied any wrongdoing. He was sentenced in August following a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that he attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group in the 1990s.
The court on Tuesday said the conviction had “structural deficiencies”, used vague premises and lacked comprehensive analysis. Two of the three judges on the panel voted to overturn the conviction; the third thought it should be upheld.
Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, has called his conviction political persecution, claiming that the judge was biased against him. In the appeal, his lawyers questioned the validity of the evidence and argued that the former president’s responsibility was not “unequivocally” proven.
Prosecutors and victims can appeal Tuesday’s ruling to Colombia’s Supreme Court. The former president, who was free pending his appeal, watched the proceedings remotely via video link.
The case has energised both Uribe’s supporters and critics, as the latest turn comes amid campaigning for next year’s legislative and presidential elections in Colombia. Uribe’s party, Democratic Centre, has already said that Uribe would run for senator if his legal situation allowed it. The original sentence included an eight-year ban on holding public office.