The trial against the far-right politician began on Feb. 6 on charges of bribery and procedural fraud.

On Monday, Colombians who were victims of paramilitary violence during the presidency of Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010) requested the presence of international observers during the trial against the far-right politician.

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“The victims’ group announces that it will appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and international non-governmental organizations to designate international observers to accompany the trial in order to ensure compliance with the right to justice and respect for the judges and magistrates presiding over the case,” stated the victims, led by leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda.

The trial against Uribe began on February 6 on charges of bribery, procedural fraud, and bribery in criminal proceedings. In this trial, in which a former president of Colombia is facing criminal charges for the first time, Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia will have to determine whether the Prosecutor’s Office is justified in its accusations against Uribe.

The victims accused Uribe and his defense team of carrying out a “systematic campaign of defamation and persecution against the magistrates and judges involved in the case” and claimed that the lawyers of the far-right politician “have resorted to various maneuvers with the aim of ensuring the expiration of the criminal action due to the statute of limitations.”

The legal dispute dates back to 2012 when Uribe sued Senator Cepeda for alleged witness tampering. At the time, Cepeda was preparing a complaint against Uribe for his ties to paramilitarism. Contrary to Uribe’s expectations, the Supreme Justice Court did not open an investigation against the leftist senator. Instead, it launched a case against the former president for witness tampering.

On February 4, the Bogota Superior Court admitted as evidence the wiretaps conducted by the Supreme Court on Uribe in 2018. His defense attorneys had requested that these wiretaps not be considered. Since this request was denied, Uribe sought to postpone the start of the trial, but that request was also denied.

In August 2020, Uribe resigned from his position as senator and the immunity that came with it. His case then passed to the ordinary justice system, but the Prosecutor’s Office decided that there was not enough evidence to prosecute him.

For this reason, Uribe twice requested the dismissal of his case. This request was denied both by the lower courts and the Bogota Superior Court. In 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office formally charged him.

teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE

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