Overview
- The appeals panel found insufficient evidence, ruled that wiretaps were unlawfully used, and cited methodological errors by the first-instance judge.
- The August ruling had imposed twelve years of house arrest, a fine of roughly €722,000, and an eight-year ban from public office.
- The acquittal lifts Uribe’s house arrest as the former president continues to deny wrongdoing and portrays the case as political revenge by President Gustavo Petro.
- The prosecutor’s office can petition the Supreme Court for review, so the decision is not yet final.
- Separate probes remain active, including a newly opened investigation in Medellín into alleged involvement by Uribe and his brother in the 1998 killings of two human rights activists.