Colombia’s Prosecutor General has acquitted a former politician of all charges after his alleged involvement in his own kidnapping by FARC guerrillas proved false.
“The prosecution offers its apologies to Sigifredo Lopez for his performances and the deprivation of liberty,” stated Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre.
“The prosecution decided to preclude the investigation against the former deputy … he had no responsibility in the kidnapping of his former colleagues,” said Montealegre.
In May, Cali authorities arrested Lopez for his alleged complicity in his own kidnapping in 2002 and of 11 other politicians, who were assassinated five years later by FARC guerrillas.
Of the 12 deputies of the Valle del Cauca department who were kidnapped from the assembly building in April 2002, Lopez was the sole survivor.
The prosecution’s case against Lopez centered on a testimony by the demobilized guerrilla “El Cabezon,” who asserted Lopez had assisted the FARC’s 30th Front with the kidnapping.
The former politician maintained from the beginning that he was innocent and it remains to be seen whether Lopez will launch legal action of his own against the Colombian state to seek recompense.