Original source (on modern site)
By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said on Wednesday there was no proof to back up charges that he engaged in fraud and witness tampering, calling the long-running legal case against him political revenge. Uribe made his remarks a day after the Colombian attorney general's office said it had presented a written accusation in the case to the Supreme Court. The right-wing politician could face up to 12 years in prison if convicted in a trial. Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010 and oversaw a military offensive against leftist guerrilla groups, is being investigated along with several allies over allegations of witness tampering carried out in an attempt to discredit accusations he had ties to right-wing paramilitaries. The first Colombian ex-president to face a trial under the country's regular justice system, Uribe has always maintained his innocence. "The trial is being carried out for political persecution, for personal condemnation, for political revenge, without proof that I sought to bribe witnesses or deceive justice," he said in a social media broadcast, denying connections to right-wing paramilitaries. "They are opening the doors of the jail without proof," the 71-year-old former leader said. Judges have twice rejected requests by prosecutors to shelve the case, which stems from Uribe's allegation in 2012 that leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda had orchestrated a plot to tie him to paramilitaries. The Supreme Court said Cepeda had collected information from former fighters as part of his work and had not paid or pressured former paramilitaries. Instead, the court said it was Uribe and his allies who pressured witnesses. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Paul Simao)