A former Colombian politican was freed from house arrest Tuesday after incriminating testimonies regarding his alleged involvement in his own kidnapping by the FARC proved false.
In what Colombian press called one of the biggest revisions of the prosecution in history, Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre admitted that the investigating agency was wrong in jailing former Valle del Cauca deputy Sigifredo Lopez and was lacking evidence.
Lopez was accused of aiding the FARC in orchestrating his own kidnapping in 2002, along with the capture of 11 other deputies from his assembly, who were killed in captivity five years later. Lopez was under house arrest in Cali after being captured three months ago for the charges made against him.
The former politician has maintained from the beginning that he was innocent.
According to Montealegre, prosecutors found various contradictions in evidence and learned that at least four witnesses lied in their testimonies.
Montealegre assured that Lopez, “was not involved in the planning or execution of his companions’ kidnapping.”
Lopez was freed immediately and revoked of all security measures previously taken against him.
The prosecution will now investigate whether to investigate the alllegedly lying witnesses.