Colombian president says
to investigate judges
for bribery
Colombian President
Alvaro Uribe said
Tuesday he would start
bribery investigations
against judges who were
investigating him for
allegedly ordering the
murder of paramilitary
chief Alcides de Jesus
Durango in 2003.
"We must not let those
shoots prosper," Uribe
said of the charges. "I
am not accusing anyone,
but I am asking for an
investigation. The
president also has the
right to a legitimate
defense and these are
very serious charges,"
he added.
He said the
investigation would
focus on judges who had
bribed a former
paramilitary leader to
make the accusation that
the president plotted to
murder Durango.
Durango, known by the
alias Rene, refused to
join the 2003-2006
demobilization program
of United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia (AUC)
paramilitaries. He was
arrested alive in June
this year.
In a Monday night
statement, Uribe said
that senior judges had
offered AUC leader Jose
Moncada, better known by
the alias Tasmania,
reduced jail terms in
exchange for accusing
Uribe.
However, Supreme Court
President Cesar Valencia
Tuesday publicly
rejected Uribe's
accusation and instead
accused the president of
creating obstacles for
investigations into the
links between
paramilitaries and
politicians and putting
judges' lives at risk.
In a Sept. 11 letter to
Uribe, Tasmania wrote
that judges had offered
him benefits like jail
sentence reductions and
witness protection in
exchange for admitting
that the president
ordered the murder of
Rene in 2003.
After being demobilized
in 2006, former AUC
leaders admitted not
only their crimes but
their relationship with
senior public officials,
leading to the jailing
of 14 legislators, most
of whom were from the
ruling party. Courts are
investigating at least
37 more legislators for
AUC links. |
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