Colombia’s former president has had two convictions for fraud and bribery overturned after he was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest.
Alvaro Uribe became the first Colombian leader to be criminally convicted after a trial in August in which a judge handed the 73-year-old the maximum sentence.
The case against him was linked to claims he ordered a lawyer to bribe jailed paramilitaries to discredit claims he had ties to their organisations. Uribe has always maintained his innocence.
The right-wing politician, who was president between 2002 and 2010, is best known for waging an aggressive offensive against left-wing Farc rebels and remains an influential figure in the South American nation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously criticised Uribe’s conviction, arguing that his only crime “has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland”.
Uribe was originally convicted, in part, on testimony from a former paramilitary commander, Luis Carlos Velez, who said he had been paid bribes by the president’s lawyer, Diego Cadena.
But the Superior Court in the capital, Bogotá, found that the ex-commander’s testimony lacked credibility.
In its 700-page decision overturning the convictions, the court also found that some of the wiretaps used to open a formal investigation into Uribe had been obtained illegally.
The ruling can be appealed by people classed as victims in the case.
Colombia’s current and first left-wing President Gustavo Petro denounced the outcome.
He wrote on X: “This is how the history of paramilitary governance in Colombia is covered up, that is, the history of politicians who came to power allied with drug trafficking.”
Paramilitary groups emerged in Colombia in the 1980s to fight the Marxist-inspired guerrilla groups that had been battling the state since the 1960s.
Many of the armed groups that developed in the conflict made an income from the cocaine trade. Deadly fighting between them and with the state has produced lasting rivalries for trafficking routes and resources.
Right-wing paramilitary groups have been found responsible for massacres, disappearances and other atrocities.
Some left-wing guerilla outfits have also been found to have been involved in massacres and threats against Colombian citizens, according to Human Rights Watch.
