Colombian ex-president Alvaro Uribe, who is being held under house arrest accused of fraud and witness tampering , announced on Tuesday he is resigning as a senator.
In a letter to Congress , the influential former leader ( 2002- 10 ) said his decision was because it was impossible “to return to the Senate ” , a post he has held since 2014, due to the procedure launched against him .
The 68 -year – old, who heads the Democratic Center party of current President Ivan Duque , previously resigned in July 2018 after the Supreme Court summonsed him .
The court ordered him held under house arrest two weeks ago , saying “from there ( he ) can mount his defense with all the guarantees of due process .”
Even if his latest resignation is accepted , he would not escape investigation and the case would pass to a lower court .
In 2012 , Uribe filed a complaint against leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda , who Uribe says hatched a plot to falsely link him to paramilitary groups .
But in 2018 , the court instead opened a witness tampering investigation against Uribe.
In his letter to Congress , Uribe complained about “the violation of eight procedural guarantees ” and claimed to have been the victim of “illegal and malicious wiretaps … and selective leaks to political opponents and journalists.”
( AFP )
