Columbia Court recommends the release of former president Alvaro Uribe; Marco Rubio calls 'weapons by radical judges'

The Superior Court of Bogota, Colombia, ordered the immediate release of former President Alvaro Uribe when he appealed his recent conviction to the tampering of the evidence, for which he was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls it ‘weapons by radical judges’. Judge Leonel Rogeles Moreno asked “to destroy Article Four of the verdict issued on August 1, 2025 by the 44th Criminal Court of the Bogotá Circuit, insofar as the immediate deprivation of the freedom of Die Burger Alvaro Uribe Velez Velez; release order in favor of the filor, within the case file, “Colombiaone cited the judicial verdict. Earlier this month, Uribe became the first former president in the history of Colombia who was convicted of a crime and the maximum sentence admitted by law. He was released from house arrest after a court ruling Tuesday that allows him to remain free while appealing his recent conviction to the tampering of witnesses. Uribe has been under house arrest in his home in Rionegro, near Medellín since August 1. The 73-year-old man, who ruled Colombia from 2002 to 2010 and formed the country’s political landscape for a generation, was convicted earlier this month of the pressure of right-wing paramilitary members to deny their commitments with him during the country’s internal armed conflict. He imposed a 12 -year sentence, allowed the maximum, which was first presented to a former president of Colombian, was convicted of a crime. Uribe, a strong law and order conservative and close ally, remains a powerful figure in Colombian politics. Even after leaving office, he continued to influence the right -wing country’s right wing and played an important role in choosing conservative party leaders. During his presidency, he led a fierce oppression of both drug cartels and the Farc Guerrilla movement, actions that earned him strong support and severe criticism. Uribe rejected the charges as politically motivated, accusing the left side of Colombia, now led by President Gustavo Petro, of prosecution. The appeal process is supervised by the Superior Court in Bogotá, stating that it is not a flight risk. The court has until October 16 to decide whether to maintain or reverse the conviction. If a decision is not issued on that date, the hearing will be declared void and Uribe will be cleaned. ‘Waponization of the judicial branch of Colombia by radical judges’ The legal struggle has deepened political division in the country. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the prosecution and, without evidence, called a case of “the weapon of the judicial branch of Colombia by radical judges”. Meanwhile, Uribe still enjoys significant public support; Recent polls consider him the most popular political figure of Colombia. The case against Uribe dates from 2018 and has seen several attempts to reject it by various attorneys -general. However, it gained new momentum under the Attorney General Luz Camargo, appointed by President Petro. Camargo oversaw the opening of the trial in May 2024, during which prosecutors called more than 90 Witnesses. Among them were at least one former paramilitary fighter who testified that Uribe contacted him in an attempt to change his testimony. (With input of AFP)