A former magistrate on Colombia’s Supreme Court is seeking damages from the state for illegal wiretapping carried out against him by intelligence agency DAS.
Former magistrate Yesid Ramirez filed a complaint before the Inspector General’s Office against the DAS, the President’s Office (which is directly responsible for the intelligence agency) and the country’s financial watchdog, for alleged complicity in the illegal activities of the DAS.
The claim follows testimony by several former DAS officials who admitted having illegally spied on Ramirez when he was a member of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court.
Ramirez clashed frequently with former President Alvaro Uribe, especially after the judge ordered Uribe’s son Tomas to be investigated for his alleged role in the bribing of congressmen.
Ramirez and other magistrates who were illegally wiretapped are receiving special protection from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights following death threats.