Colombia Court Orders Release of ex-President Alvaro Uribe

The Superior Court of Bogota, Colombia, has ordered the immediate release of former President Alvaro Uribe Velez. In a judicial ruling issued Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Court ruled to “protect the fundamental right to individual liberty of citizen Alvaro Uribe Velez” until the appeals chamber issues a decision on the second instance of the ruling that sentenced him to 12 years of house arrest.

On Aug. 1, judge Sandra Heredia found former President Uribe guilty of witness tampering and procedural fraud, sentencing him to 12 years of house arrest, with immediate effect, and imposing a fine of 3.4 billion Colombian pesos (approximately US$840,000).

Superior Court of Bogota orders immediate release of ex-Colombia President Alvaro Uribe

According to the judicial ruling, Judge Leonel Rogeles Moreno ordered “to nullify section four of the ruling issued on Aug. 1, 2025, by the 44th Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit, insofar as it ordered the immediate deprivation of liberty of citizen Alvaro Uribe Velez; until the corresponding criminal decision chamber of this Tribunal rules on the appeal filed against that first-instance decision. Consequently, the court in question is ordered to immediately issue a release warrant in favor of the petitioner, within the case file.”

The decision comes after reviewing a tutela (constitutional action) filed by the former president’s defense team which argued that judge Sandra Heredia “violated the fundamental rights to human dignity, due process, presumption of innocence, and liberty of Alvaro Uribe Velez.”

⚖️ El Tribunal Superior de Bogotá resolvió la primera acción de tutela en el proceso contra Álvaro Uribe Vélez, al pronunciarse sobre la solicitud de amparo presentada frente a la orden de detención inmediata dictada en su contra.
➡️ https://t.co/lFFrXwL7sl pic.twitter.com/JVazfLRR1y

— Tribunal Superior de Bogotá (@TSB_Bogota) August 19, 2025

The seven-year trial that ended with the ruling on Aug. 1, 2025, did not immediately lead to a prison sentence, as the court has now ruled that this can only possibly take place after Uribe’s appeal is considered.