The 44th circuit judge of Bogotá, capital of Colombia, Sandra Heredia Arana, decided to maintain the proceedings against former senator and ex-president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who this time faces charges for allegedly bribing witnesses.

The judicial official did not offer the possibility of an appeal by the defence of the former Colombian leader to challenge the decision before the High Court of Bogotá.

In addition, Heredia rejected the request for annulment requested by Uribe’s main defence lawyer, Jaime Granados, on the grounds that the court considered it «impertinent and improper».

«By virtue of this, and given that it has been accredited that the request for annulment invoked by the technical defence of Álvaro Uribe Vélez and supported by the delegate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and by the defendant himself, is absolutely inadmissible and must be rejected outright, a decision against which no appeal can be made,» said the legal official.

In Friday’s hearing, Álvaro Uribe said that «his process has had legal vacuums», exemplifying his argument with the indictment stage, this process, according to Uribe, is sufficient to annul his case.

On the other hand, teleSUR’s correspondent in Bogotá, Hernán Tobar – who has followed and shared the process against Uribe through his X account – has posted the testimony given by lawyer Reynaldo Villalba, who is part of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (Cajar), where he details that the court found evidence to show that Uribe bribed former prosecutor Hilda Niño, who testified on behalf of the former Colombian president.

In his defence, the Colombian defendant emphasised that the Supreme Court of Justice has called the attention of «the legal professionals in charge of the technical defence and from whom it demands restraint, seriousness and weighting in the requests that affect the Judiciary».

«The presentation of appeals or the formulation of oppositions manifestly aimed at hindering or delaying the normal development of the proceedings and in general the abuse of the legal channels or their use in a manner contrary to their purpose may eventually constitute an offence against the law and the administration of justice,» he added.

Finally, in the run-up to the second day of the trial hearing, the victims’ lawyers have issued a warning about the attacks he made against the Cajar and the repercussions this may have.

«Attacks that put the integrity and the lives of the people who are part of Cajar at risk. I would like to recall that during the two governments of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, the Cajar was persecuted in a generalised and systematic way through the presidential intelligence agency, which is now defunct. And there is abundant documentary proof of this», emphasised lawyer Villalba.

(With information from Tele SurTV)