Colombia’s State Council upholds the ruling banning ex-Senator Piedad Cordoba from holding public office for 18 years.
Cordoba had asked the court to overturn the ruling, claiming that her humanitarian efforts in assisting with the release of hostages that had been held captive by leftist guerrilla group FARC made it plausible for the verdict to be overturned.
However, the State Councilt ruled that there was insufficient evidence to determine whether her relationship with the FARC went further than her humanitarian efforts.
The court also wanted to note that the ex-senator’s dismissal did not include the loss of her rights nor freedom stating, “It is apparent that no reference should be made to the existence of the constitutional action of loss of investment from Congress as a justification of the impossibility that these are subject to disciplinary sanctions, because these are two different actions that are not possible to confuse.”
Cordoba is a highly controversial public figure in Colombia and was often accused by former President Alvaro Uribe of having ties to the FARC.
Her participation was instrumental in the successful release of six hostages from the FARC earlier this year.
