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Bogotá Court Frees Álvaro Uribe During Appeal, Citing Flawed Detention Order

Judges said the lower court relied on “vague” criteria to detain him before his appeal was decided.

FILE - Former President Alvaro Uribe leaves court after a hearing in his trial over witness tampering and bribery charges in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
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Colombian former President Alvaro Uribe gestures as he speaks to the press outside a court complex at the end of his trial in Bogota in February

Overview

  • The Superior Court of Bogotá annulled the part of the August 1 ruling that imposed immediate house arrest and ordered an immediate release warrant.
  • The tribunal said Uribe is not a flight risk and allowed him to remain free while the appeal proceeds under a deadline for a final decision by October 16.
  • The court set out that missing the October 16 deadline would annul the trial, which could result in Uribe going free.
  • Uribe was convicted on August 1 of witness tampering and bribery and sentenced to 12 years of house arrest, becoming the first former Colombian president convicted of a crime.
  • Prosecutors presented testimony from more than 90 witnesses, including ex-paramilitaries, as Uribe and allies denounced the case as politically driven and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio labeled it “weaponization” without offering evidence.