Colombia’s prosecutor general denied requests to release a former politician on trial for kidnapping, pending evidence under review by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Sigifredo Lopez’s attorney demanded his client’s release on Friday, arguing the prosecution’s case lacked enough evidence to warrant his detention, according to media reports.
The Prosecutor General’s Office rejected Lopez’s request for freedom, spokeswoman Martha Lucia Zamora said Friday.
Lopez is accused of collaborating with FARC rebels to orchestrate the kidnapping of 11 politicians, including himself, in 2002. Every hostage, barring Lopez, died in FARC hands in 2007.
The case hinges on a video tape that shows a man advising FARC rebels on how to kidnap his colleagues. The prosecution alleges the video features Lopez, but a former FARC guerrilla who testified in the trial this week refuted that claim.
On Wednesday the prosecution announced the FBI would analyse the video’s sound and compare it to tapes of Lopez’s voice in order to determine the identity of the man in the video.