Bogota | The Colombian Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the house arrest of former President Alvaro Uribe, still very influential in his country, for a case of witness manipulation against a leftist opponent.
The Court indicated in a press release that the former head of state (2002-2010) and current senator “will serve the deprivation of liberty at his residence, and from there may continue to exercise his defense with all the legal guarantees” .
Alvaro Uribe, 68, head of the Democratic Center (CD, in power), had himself announced his pre-trial detention a little earlier on his Twitter account.
“The deprivation of my freedom causes me deep sadness for my wife, for my family and for the Colombians who still believe that I have done something good for the motherland,” tweeted the hard-right leader and political godfather. of the current president Ivan Duque.
This unprecedented decision against a former Colombian head of state was taken during a closed hearing.
Alvaro Uribe, who usually lives on his property in Rio Negro, near Medellin, in the north-west of the country, must now wait for the date of his trial before this court, the only one empowered to try parliamentarians.
In a speech transmitted on social networks, Mr. Duque, in power for two years, defended his mentor.
“I believe and will always believe in the innocence and honor of the one who by his example has won a place in the history of Colombia”, he declared, stressing his “friendship with Alvaro Uribe” .
An unexpected turnaround
Alvaro Uribe, heard on October 9, 2019 by the magistrates, is being prosecuted for manipulation of witnesses and procedural fraud, a case which could earn him up to eight years in prison.
The ex-president, who still enjoys some popular support for his policy of iron fist against the left guerrillas, had filed a complaint in 2012 against Senator Ivan Cepeda for an alleged plot based on false witnesses.
He blamed his main political opponent, himself a witness in the case, for having asked former paramilitaries to accuse him of being involved in criminal activities by far-right militias armed against the rebels.
However, the Court did not initiate proceedings against Ivan Cepeda, but decided in 2018 to open an investigation against Alvaro Uribe for the same reason: manipulation of witnesses against an opponent.
“No one is above justice and the law in Colombia, influential and powerful as it is,” said the left-wing senator on Tuesday evening.
Alvaro Uribe is targeted in other legal proceedings for alleged crimes linked to the long and complex armed conflict, which has plagued Colombia for nearly six decades.
In June, the Supreme Court announced the opening of another investigation into illegal wiretapping carried out by the military in 2019, targeting some 130 journalists, politicians, retired soldiers and trade unionists.
During his government, the worst scandal involving the army for the extrajudicial executions of hundreds of civilians presented as guerrillas who died in combat or “false positives” broke.
But Alvaro Uribe has always proclaimed his innocence and his party is leading an intense media campaign to defend the “honor” of his leader.
On Tuesday evening, his supporters called for a parade in car convoys in Bogota, due to the municipal ban on demonstrating due to the confinement in force for nearly five months in the face of the covid-19 pandemic.
No more polarization
Some saucepan concerts in favor or against the former president also resounded in the capital.
After having militarily weakened the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), Alvaro Uribe fiercely opposed the peace agreement signed in 2016 with this Marxist guerrilla, deeming it too lenient towards ex-rebels guilty of serious crimes.
His supporters criticized the Supreme Court’s decision, deeming it unfair for him to be arrested while the former Farc leaders appear free before the peace court resulting from the 2016 agreement.
His party, the Democratic Center, declared itself “indignant” and proposed the holding of a constituent assembly to reform the high judicial bodies in order to “depoliticize justice”.
Others, such as José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), commended the court for demonstrating “that all – even the most powerful – are equal before the law”.
According to analyst Felipe Botero, political scientist from the University of the Andes, the arrest of Alvaro Uribe risks worsening “the polarization” of Colombian society caused by the agreement with the Farc.
In any case, this decision will swell the ranks of former popular Latin American leaders brought to justice, such as Lula in Brazil, Cristina Kirchner in Argentina, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Alberto Fujimori in Peru or Ricardo Martinelli in Panama. .