On Friday, the Colombian prosecutor will initiate a virtual hearing in a process against former president Alvaro Uribe for the crimes of procedural fraud and bribery of witnesses.
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Through the his lawyer Diego Cadena, the far-right politician sought to bribe witnesses who were in prison to prevent them from declaring against him in a trial that Senator Ivan Cepeda began against Uribe.
Among the prisoners whom the lawyer Cadena tried to bribe is the exparamilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve, who was serving a 40 -year sentence when the attempted manipulation of witnesses happened.
The judge of Bogota Sandra Heredia will coordinate the accusation hearing, in which Ivan Villarreal will act as a delegated prosecutor before the Supreme Court of Justice.
This case dates back to 2012 when former President Uribe prosecuted the leftist senator accusing him of witness tampering.
At that time, Cepeda, who had acquired a reputation for investigating war crimes committed by the Colombian state, was preparing a congressional complaint against Uribe for his ties to far-right paramilitary forces.
The Supreme Court of Justice, however, decided not to open an investigation against the congressman. Instead, the judges opened a case against Uribe for paying bribes to several imprisoned paramilitaries whose purpose was to get them to speak in his favor.