Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos questioned the evidence against Casa deNariño officials for their alleged involvement in illegal surveillance and wiretapping, saying that it is not solid.
“Yesterday I was visiting some people who are being charged for the DAS issue and when I saw the evidence and the process, I said that this would not hold up in an independent court review,” Santos said, adding that he was alarmed by the “flippancy” of the accusations.
On July 7 Colombia’s prosecutor general called four senior aides of President Alvaro Uribe for interrogation in connection with the wiretap scandal surrounding presidential security agency DAS.
Prosecutor General Guillermo Mendoza explained that the purpose of the meeting will be to hear their version of events and determine whether there are grounds to make charges against the four over the scandal.
Santos also commented on the Colombian Supreme Court’s decision to open preliminary investigations against eight former congressmen accused of ties to paramilitary death squads and crimes against humanity.
“Here a fundamental issue must be made clear and that is that the principle of the presumption of innocence is being lost at a rapid pace” the vice president said. He added that it was a “very serious” situation.
