Ex-leader convicted over efforts to sway testimony in case tied to country’s armed conflict
A Colombian court has found the country’s former president Álvaro Uribe guilty of witness tampering.
The 73-year-old, who served as president from 2002 to 2010, was convicted on Monday of trying to persuade witnesses to lie for him in a separate investigation. He faces a 12-year prison sentence in a case that has become highly politicised.
The case dates back to 2012, when Uribe accused the leftwing senator Iván Cepeda before the supreme court of hatching a plot to falsely link him to rightwing paramilitary groups involved in Colombia’s long-standing conflict.
The court decided against prosecuting Cepeda and pursued his claims against Uribe. As the judge started reading her verdict, Uribe – who attended the trial virtually – sat shaking his head. He is Colombia’s first-ever former head of state to be convicted of a crime.
