Espionage case opens against spy chief living in Panama

The first steps in the illegal spying prosecution  of Colombia’s former head of intelligence who fled to Panama while under investigation began Wednesday, April 27.

Maria del Pilar Hurtado who headed the of  the intelligence service, DAS, will be the subject of a preliminary hearing along with Bernardo Moreno former secretary apportioned to ex president  Alvaro Uribe who is also under investigation

Viviane Morales asked the prosecutor today, Wednesday, a preliminary hearing and a custodial charge against Moreno and Hurtado, involved in illegal wiretapping and harassment of judges, politicians, human rights defenders and journalists, between 2007 and 2008.
The charges are for conspiracy, unlawful violation of communications, misuse of public office, malfeasance through action and falsification of public documents, prosecutors said.
Hurtado, who led the DAS between 2007 and 2008, fled to Panama in Panama in November last year, when the prosecution was about to decide whether charges should be laid against her.

She was granted asylum be President Ricardo Martinelli and joins a list of other escapees from justice from other countries. Accusers claimed that asylum was granted by Martinelli through a deal with Uribe.

Meanwhile Panama’s  former Attorney General, Ana Matilde Gomez was removed from office, and given a jail sentence by  the Supreme Court, for tapping the cell phone of a prosecutor under investigation for soliciting bribes.
The DAS is a body that reports directly to the presidency. Two former executives of the intelligence agency, have already been found guilty and  received  reduced sentences  in return for information.
Moreno is scheduled to  meetwith DAS officials to disclose information to judges investigating, among other links between politicians and paramilitaries. The former civil servant was sanctioned in 2010 and cannot hold public office for 18 years.

Senator Iván Cepeda said: "The allocation of responsibility shows that Moreno managed events for  Uribe's government with a  sophisticated system of spying and persecution of political opponents and judges," Cepeda told AFP.
According to investigators, the DAS infiltrated the Supreme Court, dealing with more than one hundred political leaders for their links with paramilitary groups, and for attempting a smear campaign against some judges.
Uribe, who ruled between 2002 and 2010, defended his former officials, including  seeking  asylum elsewhere as  justice in Colombia does not give sufficient guarantees.
The former president, whom some accuse victims of ordering  the espionage is being investigated for  illegal wiretapping by a parliamentary committee.
Uribe has denied the  accusations and claims that the evidence and testimony against him is false or manipulated.