11:17 AM
The case of possible illegal interceptions of which the magistrate of the Constitutional Court, Jorge Enrique Ibáñez, has evolved diligently.
The conversational magistrate’s alert came first. He assured that he, his family and some assistant magistrates in his office would be intercepted by “official intelligence bodies, one of which operates in the Presidency of the Republic and the National Intelligence Directorate, andn coordination with the Dian and the Financial Analysis Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Uiaf)”says a fragment of the letter sent to the Prosecutor’s Office.
“It is an absolutely irregular and arbitrary situation of which we are victims and I do not rule out that the same action may be taking place in relation to other magistrates of the Constitutional Court.”, the magistrate added in his letter.
This complaint revived an old fear. This is not the first time that high court judges have been victims of illegal interceptions due to the nature of their investigations and the impact of their decisions. From there, the judicial and political swirl around Dr. Ibáñez’s assertions.
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Then, due to the urgency of the situation, on Monday evening, in the facilities of the Palace of Justice-place chosen to vindicate the dignity that assists the magistrate-Prosecutor Hernando Barreto, coordinator of prosecutors delegated to the Supreme Court of Justice, took the extension of the complaint, received the evidentiary material and listened in detail to the information that the magistrate had in this regard. This procedure lasted at least four hours.
There, prosecutor Barreto, just as did the prosecutor, Luz Adriana Camargo, committed to moving forward promptly in clarifying the facts already. deliver a first report with preliminary findings in the coming weeks.
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It turned out that once the procedure was completed, the other magistrates of the corporation approached where Ibáñez was as a show of solidarity and support. But also, it was a symbolic act to record that not a single member of that high court is being affected, but the entire institution.
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Ibáñez is one of the most experienced and independent judges of the Constitutional Court. From his native Tunja, Boyacá, he has stood out for his high IQ and judgment in decision-making. He was a city councilor and founder of an economic law study center when he was just a teenager.
It came to Court in 2020, replacing Judge Luis Guillermo Guerrero and since then they have stood out for their active participation in rulings of great national and international impact, such as their vote in favor of the decriminalization of abortion until the 24th week.
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He had in his office the demand to the Law of Total Peace of the Government of Gustavo Petro, which he asked to tear down because he considered it unconstitutional. Just as in that case, Ibáñez has emerged as a counterweight to the executive.
Now, he hopes that the Prosecutor’s Office considers the seriousness of the matter that today puts the spotlight on his name again, He is in favor of being away from controversies, discreet, far from controversies.
