The Bogota Superior Tribunal on Wednesday approved an arrangement between prosecutors and a former DAS executive, confirming the former intelligence chief’s eight-year jail sentence for his role in the illegal wiretapping of government opponents.
The DAS’ former deputy director of counterintelligence, Jorge Alberto Lagos, had agreed with the Prosecutor General’s Office to accept charges and have his jail sentence reduced in exchange for testimony against high ranked government and security officials.
This plea bargain was appealed by the Inspector General’s Office, which claimed that the deal was illegal.
However, according to the court, “there was no violation of the principle of legality of the sentence as the Prosecutor General’s Office acted within the boundaries of the law.”
Lagos is one of five former DAS directors and deputy directors charged with conspiracy, abuse of power, and other charges for the illegal wiretapping of Supreme Court judges, politicians, journalists and human rights organizations.