Victims of the Uribe administration wiretapping scandal requested Tuesday that former chief of staff Bernardo Moreno be imprisoned during his trial.
The victims asked that Bernardo Moreno, who is currently being tried for his part in the scandal, be detained while the trial against him continues. In May, Moreno was granted house arrest instead of being sent to jail.
Other members of the Uribe administration, such as former head of Colombia’s intelligence agency Maria del Pilar Hurtado, have fled the country instead of facing prosecution by Colombia’s Supreme Court.
Lawyer Luis Guillermo Perez, who spoke on behalf of a group of lawyers representing the wiretapping victims, requested “a new hearing before the Superior Court of Bogota, regarding the detention of Mr. Bernardo Moreno.”
Moreno is accused of having participated in a network that spied on public figures, including prominent journalists, politicians, and judges of the Supreme Court.
Moreno’s lawyer argued that his clients actions were legal and that it was necessary to spy on members of Colombia’s supreme court and left-wing politicians such as Piedad Cordoba to make sure that they did not have connections to drug cartels.
The Bogota judge expressed concern about the delays caused by proposal to the development of the case.