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In a statement sent to the Supreme Court of Justice for the extraordinary review of the conviction of former Minister André Felipe Arias, Francisco Barbosa’s Prosecutor’s Office asked to maintain the sentence that the same Court imposed against the former Minister for corruption in the Agro Ingreso Seguro case. of Agriculture of the Government of Álvaro Uribe.
(Read also: The 5 darts of Andrés Felipe Arias to overturn his sentence)
The Prosecutor’s Office considers that the evidence and testimonies demonstrate Arias’ guilt in the irregular handling of the millionaire irrigation subsidies. Arias received a 17-year sentence that he tried to avoid by fleeing to the United States.
Although the Prosecutor’s Office does not participate in the process, the Court asked him to give his opinion in its review of the case, the same as other institutions.
Arias is one of the men closest to former President Álvaro Uribe, who has maintained throughout all this time that his former minister was the victim of an alleged political persecution.
(Read also: The 3 magistrates who will review the sentence against Andrés Felipe Arias)
The document is signed by the attorney delegate to the Court Carlos Mejía Abello and, in accordance with guidelines of the Before being sent, prosecutor Barbosa had to be endorsed by the Chief of Delegates to the Court, Gabriel Jaimes, and by the Attorney General’s office.
Regarding the high sentence of 17 years, one of the highest imposed for a corruption case against a senior official and which has been pointed out by the Democratic Center and other sectors as the alleged demonstration of a political ruling against Arias, the prosecutor delegate notes that “there is no lack of motivation” to impose it, given the seriousness of the criminal conduct, the plurality of crimes and the social position and state of the accused.
“This delegate believes that the penalty in the case under examination must remain intact, to the extent that there is no substantial irregularity that violates fundamental rights and guarantees,” says the 247-page document filed this Friday in the Secretariat of the Supreme Court.
The Prosecutor’s Office asked the Decision Chamber “to maintain the sentence in the terms and conditions established in the contested ruling, in view of the evidence that in this process no errors or ignorance of guarantees were made “.
