Close ally of Colombia's president released from prison after prosecutor cites skimpy evidence

[Joanne98]

Source: AP

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ A former senator close to President Alvaro Uribe was freed from prison on Wednesday, four months after his arrest on charges of colluding with far-right death squads.

Mario Uribe was released after Colombia's No. 2 prosecutor said there was insufficient evidence to hold him. He remains under investigation, however, and is barred from leaving the country.

Mario Uribe is the most prominent figure in a scandal that has sent 33 current or former national lawmakers to jail on charges of benefiting from ties with the so-called paramilitaries.

Another former lawmaker, William Montes, was also freed Wednesday after a judge determined he was under duress when he signed a 2001 document pledging an alliance with the paramilitaries.




Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-colombia-paramilitary-scandal,0,7571716.story

[Judi Lynn]

1. If Uribe's plan works, fewer and fewer charges will be brought against his allies, too!

He's hot on the trail of getting investigations of his death-squad/paramilitary/narcotrafficking/political allies suppressed, once and for all.

August 19, 2008

The Road to Tyranny in Colombia
A Third Term in Office
By JAMES J. BRITTAIN

Colombia has been known for having one of the most stable democracies of the subcontinent which, while it has not undergone the dictatorships that other countries have suffered, is not very ‘inclusive’. There has been considerable progress in terms of civil, political, social and cultural rights, which were consecrated in the 1991 constitution, but they are threatened by the new right in power. The present government has proved to be strongly authoritarian, which not only tends to eliminate the opposition but to ‘de-institutionalize’ democracy, relying on the charisma of the president.

~snip~
.....Uribe has proposed a series of amendments to the Colombian constitution that would relinquish various powers related to the country’s Supreme Court and the capacity to investigate existing congressional politicians and state officials connected to the parapolitica. Essentially, the Court would become powerless in directly reviewing, hearing, or trying cases related to the scandal. If accepted, the Supreme Court would be restricted from any involvement in said cases other than through an appeal process. This clearly ensures political security for Uribistas while the president marginalizes the judiciary’s authority (over the current administration). Alongside such measures the president has increased his rhetoric by accusing officials of manipulating the judiciary and claiming it as a medium that seeks to demonize his legitimacy.

~snip~
Rather than seeking truth and facilitating justice the Uribe administration and its ideological cohorts have clearly become preoccupied with silencing systemic corruption by targeting those who have spoken out or raised a spotlight on officials who have facilitated the death and disappearances of the country’s citizens. Uribe has shown his true colours as a leader within a regime that seeks to dispel democratic stability and integrity for the continuity of power and dominance. While not the only actor within the play of Colombian authoritarianism, Uribe, if ‘re-elected’ a second time, will most assuredly take Colombia down a road far from the rule of law but rather a tyranny secured by despotism.

http://www.counterpunch.org/brittain08192008.html