The Bogota judiciary council reportedly suspended the forwarding of cases to the appeals court that will review the fraud and bribery conviction of Colombia’ former President Alvaro Uribe in the coming weeks.

According to newspaper El Espectador, the measure seeks to clear the agenda of the 19th Chamber, whose magistrates will be looking into the conviction that resulted in a 12-year sentence for Uribe.

The extraordinary measure would help the three magistrates of the 19th Chamber to concentrate solely on the Uribe case until August 20, when the suspension ends.

The court has until October 16 to try Uribe’s announced appeal, which is expected to be filed by his defense attorneys before August 13.

If the magistrates looking into Uribe’s appeal don’t rule before the October 16 deadline, the defense may call for a mistrial because the court system failed to try the former president within the legal term limits.

Magistrates responsible for Uribe appeal

• Alexandra Ossa
• Manuel Antonio Merchan
• Mar??a Leonor Oviedo

The magistrates will review the conviction that was handed out by judge Sandra Heredia last week after reviewing the evidence presented by he prosecution and Uribe’s defense team since February.

Most of the evidence presented by the prosecution was gathered by the Supreme Court, which was in charge of the investigation between February 2018 and August 2020, when Uribe resigned from Congress to avoid trial.

The delay in the court case is mainly due to former Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa, whose subordinates refused to call Uribe to court until they were taken off the case last year.

Uribe is on trial because he allegedly bribed witnesses in an apparent attempt to obstruct investigations into his family’s alleged ties to paramilitary groups in the 1990’s.

Among those who were smeared by the false witnesses are Senator Ivan Cepeda, Justice Minister Eduardo Montealegre and two former members of the paramilitary group “Bloque Metro.”

These victims have been key in the opening of criminal investigations into Uribe and his brother Santiago.