Professional liars are undermining justice in Colombia
Professional liars are undermining justice in Colombia
Apr 23, 1:37 PM EDT
By JACOBO GARCIA
Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Sen. Luis Fernando Velasco's life began to unravel in 2008 when a lawyer appeared before prosecutors and accused him of conspiring with leftist rebels to coerce voters to support him.
His good name tarnished, Velasco was forced to temporarily abandon his Senate seat and was behind bars when his father suffered a heart attack. After four months in jail, prosecutors determined it was all a set up and his accusers had been paid by his political enemies to testify against him. Velasco was set free, and the lawyer and his accusers were arrested.
The senator's ordeal highlights a spreading problem undermining trust in Colombia's criminal justice system: professional liars paid and often groomed by corrupt lawyers to testify in court. Authorities have taken to calling it the "cartel of false witnesses," with paid liars sometimes testifying in dozens of cases at a time, parading from courtroom to courtroom.
So entrenched is the problem, the country's chief prosecutor set up a special task force two years ago to comb over the evidence in 3,000 cases where perjury is suspected. So far, around 100 cases have been overturned.
More:
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