The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office This Thursday he asked for respect for the autonomy and independence of the branches of Public Power by rejecting the blockade of supporters of the Government of President Gustavo Petro to the Palace of Justice in Bogotá.
A demonstration that began with the request that the Supreme Court of Justice choose today the replacement of the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosawhose term will end next Monday, ended in disorders after none of the three candidates for the position, nominated by Petroobtained the 16 votes necessary in that court.
After the incidents, which forced police intervention to restore order around the Courthouse, headquarters of the Supreme Court, The Prosecutor’s Office stated in a statement that it “stands in solidarity with the judges that comprise it” and made “a call for full respect for their autonomy and independence.”
“The Attorney General’s Office, as an institution of the Judicial Branch of the Public Powerrejects acts of violence pcommitted today against the Supreme Court of Justice, as well as the attacks on public servants, journalists and the infrastructure of the Palace of Justice, headquarters of that high corporation.”
In the last days Petro has called for mobilizations alleging that his Government is the victim of a “constitutional breakdown” and of an assumption “coup” orchestrated by Barbosa due to the Prosecutor’s Office investigations against people around him, including his first-born son, Nicolás Petro Burgos, prosecuted for illicit enrichment and money laundering.
In the statement, the Prosecutor’s Office added that “it has formed a work team made up of prosecutors and investigators from the Technical Investigation Corps, in order to carry out the corresponding urgent acts and exercise criminal action against possible criminal acts that have been committed” against the Supreme Court.
Finally, he emphasized the “importance of exercising the right to citizen protest within the legal framework, as well as respecting the democratic channels provided for in the Constitution. “The integrity of the institutions of justice is essential for the preservation of the social rule of law.”
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The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) also called “for calm and harmony so that the differences that occur today within Colombian democracy are processed through channels that respect the rule of law.”