Former president Alvaro Uribe waived the statute of limitations in his case, which could have resulted in a mistrial on October 16.
Earlier this year, a Bogota court sentenced Uribe to 12 years of house arrest on fraud and bribery charges.
The former president appealed the court’s conviction and is awaiting a definitive ruling by the Bogota superior Tribunal.
Now that Uribe waived the statute of limitations, the court can take as long as it would like to try the appeal.
I therefore ask, Honorable Magistrates, that you accept, under the terms of Article 85 of the Penal Code, my waiver of the right to benefit from the statute of limitations on criminal proceedings and that you adopt, in my case, the substantive decision that is legally appropriate, based solely on what has been proven in court, what the law mandates, and what is just
Alvaro Uribe
The appeals court’s agenda was cleared earlier this month ahead of Uribe’s appeal. This uncommon measure was implemented to help the magistrates concentrate on the former president’s case.
Because of delays in the prosecution’s decision to call Uribe to court, the court had until October 16 to either confirm the initial conviction or absolve the former president.
If the court was unable to do so, Uribe’s defense team could have called for a mistrial. This option is now gone.
One of the lawyer’s of Uribe’s victims, Miguel Angel del Rio, said Uribe’s announcement was “pure theater.”
The convicted Uribe Vélez waives the statute of limitations when there is no possibility of it coming into effect.
Miguel Angel del Rio
Uribe is on trial because he allegedly bribed witnesses in an apparent attempt to obstruct investigations into his family’s alleged ties to paramilitary groups in the 1990s.
Among those who were smeared by the false witnesses are Senator Ivan Cepeda, Justice Minister Eduardo Montealegre, and two former members of the paramilitary group “Bloque Metro.”
These victims have been key in the opening of criminal investigations into Uribe and his brother Santiago.
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