The criminal lawyer Jaime Granados, defender of former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who faces a trial for bribery to witnesses and procedural fraud, is calm and optimistic of the conclusion that the process may have. After the intervention stage of the prosecution’s witnesses, Granados argues that none of them has committed the innocence of the ex -president and, instead, reaffirms his thesis on an alleged political plot behind the accusations.
Doctor Granados, the judicial process against former President Uribe continues. We understand that a part of the process related to the witnesses of the Prosecutor’s Office has already concluded. At what stage are you currently?
Indeed, on April 29, the probative practice of the Prosecutor’s Office culminated. This means that all the evidence that the Prosecutor’s Office requested and were accepted by the Court to support their accusation have already been presented. As of Monday, May 5, we started the presentation phase of the evidence requested by the defense. At this time of inflection in the process, it is very relevant to highlight that of the 37 witnesses presented by the Prosecutor’s Office, none has contributed evidence that compromises the innocence of former president Uribe.
The last witness of the Prosecutor’s Office was a communications analyst, and now it will be the turn of the defense. The first witness will be, in fact, former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez. This is a crucial phase of the trial because, until now, the testimonies presented have failed to connect the former president with the charges that are imputed to him, such as procedural fraud or bribery to witnesses. In that sense, for defense, this balance is very satisfactory. Seeing that not even with the evidence that the Prosecutor’s Office has brought so far has been able to affect Uribe’s innocence position is a clear indication that the case is in a good position for defense.
Do you think that some witnesses of the Prosecutor’s Office, instead of incriminating the former president, said alleged actions of Senator Iván Cepeda?
The 37 witnesses of the Prosecutor’s Office have been, for the most part, people who have not presented evidence to link Álvaro Uribe Vélez with the crimes that are charged. Moreover, some of the testimonies of people with a criminal record, such as exparamilitaries or people accused of drug trafficking, indicate that they were contacted by Iván Cepeda, who offered benefits in exchange for testifying against Uribe. They were offered advantages such as political asylum, economic support to their families, and even judicial benefits if they declared that Uribe was involved in the crimes that are imputed to him.
In recent days, there was a controversial situation with a comment from the prosecutor and her assistant after a trill of the former president about the death of the Pope. Do you consider this to reflect a politicized process?
We have tried to concentrate on the substantial aspects of the case and avoid falling into incidents that have no direct legal relevance. However, I take the opportunity to express our deep protest for the derogatory and disobligating comments made by the prosecutor and its assistant.
I understand that we are all human and that we can make mistakes, but these comments denote a prejudice and hostility towards the person of former president Uribe. For us, this is another sample of how the process is being politicized and biased, something that we have been pointing out from the beginning. The Prosecutor’s Office must act with more rigor and objectivity, without being influenced by personal opinions or prejudices, since their work is to guarantee justice and respect for people’s dignity.
You have also expressed disagreements with the judge of the case. Has your behavior changed or has it been a defense strategy to delay the process?
We present guardianship actions and challenges at the time. Although our challenge was not accepted, we did make judicial decisions in favor. Following this, we have seen a more balanced attitude by the judge. Although we do not agree with everything, we recognize that change. There is still a lot of process ahead: we have 74 tests for presenting and we estimate that this will take about three or four more months.
What witnesses will present the defense in this new phase of the trial?
We will begin with the testimony of former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who will be a complete and chronological account of the facts. Then his brother, Santiago Uribe Vélez, will continue to complement that version. Then other witnesses will come following a reconstructive order. In total there will be 70 witnesses, and we will close with three experts of great importance, one of them key to explain the plot that we consider was warned against the former president.
Finally, Doctor Granados, do you think that with this strategy and what has been seen so far, the process will conclude with a favorable verdict?
With what has been seen so far, even only with the evidence of the Prosecutor’s Office, the presumption of innocence of the former president has not been affected at all. That is why we trust that, once the defense tests are known, an acquittal is issued. In addition, we hope that those responsible for the political plot against them will be ordered.
