Lawyer sentenced to 5 years in jail for bribing client to frame judge
Lawyer sentenced to 5 years in jail for bribing client to frame judge
Tuesday, 10 January 2012 13:50
Aylish O'Driscoll
A lawyer has been sentenced to five years in prison for bribing his client, a former paramilitary chief, to frame a judge by fasely testifying that he was told to accuse then president Alvaro Uribe of conspiracy to commit murder.
Lawyer Sergio Gonzales, who was representing former paramilitary chief Jose Orlando Moncada, alias "Tasmania", has been charged with libel and sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison for instructing his client to lie about Supreme Court Judge Ivan Velasquez.
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However in 2009, Tasmania revoked this testimony, claiming that he was offered over $200,000, a new house and prison benefits to smear Judge Valasquez. According to Tasmania, he was pressured by Sergio into making the statements, and it was his lawyer who gave him the document stating Velasquez wanted to smear Uribe, which had formed the basis of his attacks on the judge.
During his testimony in the hearing against Sergio Gonzalez, Tasmania spoke of contact with Alvaro Uribe's brothers, Mario and Santiago Uribe, who had congratulated him on his false testimony.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/21450-lawyer-sentenced-to-5-years-in-jail-for-bribing-client-to-frame-judge.html
