On February 18, 2022, the Council of State declared inadmissible the tutela filed by José de Jesús Uribe Silva, a humble carpenter victim of a judicial set-up originated in an economic controversy with the magistrate José Alfredo Escobar Araújo, who hired him for a work and ended up sentencing him to four years of imprisonment.
In an unusually swift action by the Colombian criminal justice system, Mr. Jesús Uribe was immediately sentenced to four years in prison by the 19th Criminal Judge in a sentence that was confirmed by the Pasto Superior Court.
In view of the multiple irregularities in this process, the representation of the carpenter took the case to the Supreme Court of Justice which, in 2010, acquitted him of the charges after a year under house arrest. The highest court declared that there was always atypicality in the conduct, that is, that the carpenter’s conduct did not fit into any crime, a situation that should have been recognized by the Court, the Tribunal and even the Prosecutor who investigated him so quickly.
As a consequence of this miscarriage of justice, José de Jesús became ill, lost his jobs, suffered ridicule in the media, was excluded from family and public relations, was insulted and suffered persecution, but never received justice. On the contrary, when in June 2011 he sued the State for liability for the errors committed by the administration of justice, both the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca and the Council of State – Third Section – denied his right to full reparation.
What were the reasons for disregarding the harm caused to Mr. Uribe Silva as a consequence of the unjust deprivation of his liberty? Both the Court and the Council of State replied to the arguments of the Court and the Superior Court that convicted him in criminal proceedings, but omitted to make an assessment of the speed of the “investigations” and convictions in this case and, in addition, the Council of State did not refer to the evident atypical nature of the conduct recognized by the Supreme Court of Justice and overlooked by the other two judicial instances. Even more serious, the High Court did not even study the physical, economic, labor and emotional damages caused to the carpenter by the unjust conviction.
Once again, the abuse of power was imposed on a humble and innocent citizen. In this and recent cases, the Council of State holds that a person can be deprived of his freedom for years, regardless of the effects on the victims and their families, that the sentences are erroneous or that the evidence is insufficient, that there is a right to the presumption of innocence or even, as in this case, that the conduct does not even constitute a crime.
For all of the above reasons, in December 2021, the Lawyers’ Collective José Alvear Restrepo, Cajar, on behalf of the victim, filed a guardianship action against the decision of the Council of State, reiterating the abuse of power and the anti-juridical damages that were not analyzed by the judges of instance, and requested the protection of the fundamental rights to equality, due process and full reparation of the Carpenter.
In view of the decision of February 18, 2022 that rejected the tutela, we challenged the decision seeking that this High Court reconsider protecting the fundamental rights that were denied to the carpenter, emphasizing that the abuse of the power of justice generated affectations in a humble and innocent person.
This is an opportunity for the justice system to distance itself from influences and conflicts of interest, and to resolve in law a case that compromises one of its Magistrates. We hope that the Council of State admits this tutela and rules in favor of the fundamental rights of this citizen, recognizes the abuse of power and judicial error against him, and orders full reparation for the damages suffered.
