A judge who decided to release a member of the FARC guerrilla group before the end of his sentence dismisses President Juan Manuel Santos’ description of him as a “bad apple,” Caracol Radio reports.
Judge Juan de Dios Solano, who ordered the release of “Mono Jojoy’s” right-hand-man Manuel Marulanda Velez, alias “Chucho,” on Friday for procedural errors made during his arrest, accepted the opening of a preliminary investigation into his actions by the Superior Judicial Council earlier on Monday, noting the body’s right to monitor his work.
However, Solano dismissed comments made by Santos, stating, “I’m not a bad apple,” and warned against such remarks being made as investigations move forward.
Solano also stood by his original decision to release Chucho, ensuring that significant errors were made by authorities during the arrest.
Chucho, who was serving a 19 year prison term for his role in the 2003 bombing of a Bogota nightclub, was re-arrested on Sunday immediately after his release in Bucaramanga due to the issuance of a new arrest warrant by the prosecutor in the case.
He has since been transferred to Bogota where he will face a new trial.