Colombian dissident politician Piedad Cordoba refuses to accept the rejection of the appeal she filed against her dismissal as senator and ban from public office for 18 years. On Wednesday she announced that she will take legal action to prove her innocence.
In a press release published on her website, the former senator said the inspector general’s decision to reject her appeal and uphold his previous sentence “did not surprise me.”
Cordoba said that the State Council is the only body that has the jurisdiction to dismiss congressmen and that she was refused a fair defense in the process.
“Therefore, considering that this disciplinary ruling is against the law, I will start legal action that will allow me to prove my innocence of the facts I am accused of, reinstate my good name and [undo] the damage this unjust decision has done to my children, family, followers and those that, like me, believe in democracy,” Cordoba said.
Now that Cordoba lost her appeal, she has officially lost her seat in the Senate and the congressional commissions she was part of. Cordoba could still save her political career by challenging the decision before the State Council, but according to weekly Semana, this could take years.
The leftist politician was dismissed and barred from holding public office for 18 years for overstepping her authority when mediating with the FARC and “promoting and advising” the guerrillas, according to the inspector general’s ruling. The Supreme Court earlier said there was not enough evidence to conclude Cordoba is guilty of “FARC-politics.”