Uribe responds to the judge who denied the preclusion of the case against him 3:23
(CNN Spanish) --
For nearly four years, former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez faces a trial before the courts for alleged procedural fraud and witness tampering.
Due to the 'ups and downs' of this case, it is already considered by many in Colombia as the most controversial and striking judicial file of the decade.
In the last few hours, the former president ruled on the most recent decision of a judge who decided not to file the file and keep it alive.
Uribe insisted on denying the accusations against him and said that "his reputation has been expropriated."
The case of Uribe Vélez originated in the Supreme Court of Justice as a result of a complaint that he himself filed against Senator Iván Cepeda for allegedly manipulating testimonies of paramilitaries that linked Uribe with the creation of self-defense groups, specifically the so-called Metro block that operated in Medellín and Antioquia.
In February 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice concluded that there was no place to investigate Congressman Cepeda but, instead, began to investigate Uribe for the same conduct.
Based on multiple interceptions of telephone calls and statements by witnesses who denounced pressure from lawyer Diego Cadena, Uribe's defender at the time, the high court opened a formal investigation of the former president.
Judge denies the preclusion of the case against the former president of Colombia Álvaro Uribe
In another well-known episode of this case, in August 2020 the Court ordered Uribe's house arrest and after this decision, the former president resigned his seat in the Senate and his privileges as a congressman, arguing that he had no guarantees to be judged by the High Court.
His case then passed into the hands of the Attorney General's Office and in November of the same year, a judge ordered Uribe's release.
Between the months of July and August of last year, before the 28th judge of Bogotá, the prosecutor in charge of the case, Gabriel Ramón Jaimes, formally presented the support and arguments according to which he considered that the former president had not committed any crime and that there was not enough evidence to judge him and consequently, he requested the preclusion or filing of the file.
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However, last week the 28th judge of Bogotá, Carmen Helena Ortiz, in a hearing that lasted almost 12 hours, decided not to endorse the request by the Prosecutor's Office to file the case, and instead keep it alive.
During the hearing, Judge Ortiz criticized the work of the accusing body, which she considered insufficient to prove her hypothesis, and therefore Uribe Vélez continues to be charged and about to face trial.
Uribe could face trial after judge's ruling 0:39
Possible future scenarios
Taking into account that the decision of Judge 28 of April 27 was not appealed by the Prosecutor's Office or by the defense of the former president, the criminal process continues its course.
What would proceed from now on is that the accusing entity would have to present the indictment against Uribe Vélez to continue the process before a court of knowledge.
Once this is filed, the formal accusation would come, then the preparatory stage and the beginning of the formal trial against the former president.
Another possible scenario that arises in this case is that the Prosecutor's Office could even continue investigating and request a new estoppel hearing with other and new arguments.
Public statement by Uribe
In the last hours, last Sunday, May 1, Uribe made a public statement through his social networks and presented a 41-point document in which he rejected the decision of Judge 28, reiterated his alleged innocence and said that with it, his reputation had been “expropriated”.
“I never had the initiative to look for a witness, I simply authorized Dr. Diego Cadena to corroborate the information that came to me.
There is not a single piece of evidence that can cast doubt on this statement,” the former president assured in the lengthy document.
Likewise, he declared that he had never taken the initiative to offer benefits to third parties or authorized money transfers to bribe witnesses and that it was never his intention to mislead justice.
“I don't bribe witnesses, I confront them.
I do not seek to deceive justice, when I have had to denounce a magistrate I have done so and head on, ”said Uribe Vélez in his defense brief.
Although Uribe once again declared himself the victim of a setup, the truth is that the process is ongoing and the recent judicial decision of Judge 28 opens the possibility that for the first time in the history of the country a former president of Colombia will face trial. and end up in the chair of the accused.
Alvaro Uribe