Colombia’s Supreme Court wants the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate if prison authorities illegally allowed jailed politicians to be prematurely released from prison, newspaper El Tiempo reported Friday.
Earlier this week, when the high court ruled against the early release of Ciro Ramirez — a former senator convicted for his ties to paramilitary death squads — magistrates questioned the jailed politician on how he obtained the certificates for community labor and received education.
In the same court case, the court ordered prosecutors to investigate the granting of these certificates that allow prisoners to leave jail prematurely.
Ramirez had requested to be released from prison one week after his seven-year prison sentence because he had completed 1,312 hours of work in urban agriculture and 810 hours of studying.
Ramirez was arrested in February 2008, but controversially absolved of charges by a Bogota court in December 2010. This decision was overruled by the Supreme Court, who sentenced the former president of the Consevative Party to seven years.
Several politicians who were condemned for their ties to paramilitary death squads have been released early because they claimed to have carried out community service.