Sawt Falasteen - Colombia charges ex-president Uribe with witness tampering

Uribe, who was president between 2002 and 2010, is accused of interfering with witnesses during an investigation into his potential links with right-wing paramilitary groups.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said an indictment had been filed against Uribe, 71, for "the crimes of bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud," without specifying when his trial would begin.

The charges against him are punishable by up to eight years of imprisonment.

The investigation dates to 2012, when Uribe, then a senator, filed a complaint against leftist senator Ivan Cepeda, whom he accused of hatching a plot to falsely link him to right-wing paramilitary groups involved in the country's long-standing, myriad armed conflicts.

But the Supreme Court decided against investigating Cepeda, instead turning its sights on Uribe, accusing him of tampering with witnesses -- jailed paramilitaries -- to get them to say they had no contact with him.

The conservative politician was placed under house in 2020, but released two months later as the investigation continued.

He has always maintained his innocence.

The indictment comes after a court in October rejected the latest request by the attorney general's office to close the investigation in a highly politicized case that has seen a series of complex twists and turns.

But a new attorney general, Luz Camargo, took over in March.

She was chosen from a shortlist proposed by leftist President Gustavo Petro, historically a foe of Uribe.

While president, Uribe was known for his tough stance on fighting the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

He also strongly opposed his successor Juan Manuel Santos's historic 2016 peace accord with the FARC that saw the Marxist rebels disarm.

Petro was once part of a smaller urban guerrilla group.

Uribe remains a prominent voice on Colombia's right, which ceded power to Petro in 2022 elections.

Petro has sought to end six decades of conflict between the country's security forces, guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug gangs as part of his "total peace" plan.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST