Due to legal harassment against his family, President Gustavo Petro filed a new lawsuit in May against former President Andrés Pastrana, who had expressed criticism of presidential rule current Colombia, especially for the policy of ‘total peace’, to which the previous one was. the president was connected to the drug trade.
The defense of Andrés Pastrana emphasizes that this is a non-contractual civil liability lawsuit that the head of state is undertaking with legal persecution against the former governor of the country between 1998 and 2002.
Today, Friday, August 2, Semana Magazine learned about the decision of the 57th civil court of the circuit of Bogotá, which rejected the “extraordinary lawsuit” (according to the former president) sent by Gustavo Petro Urrego filed last May against the former president Andrés Pastrana Arango and his brother, the journalist, Juan Carlos Pastrana.
In the legal decision, the office warns that it does not have the authority to investigate the facts requested by the Head of State against the Pastrana Arango brothers. The fact with which it was established is that it must be an administrative court that must evaluate the case.
The reasons for rejecting the application
On July 31, 2024, the individual distribution was made, in this case, in the administrative courts of Bogotá. In the lawsuit, Petro attacks the former president (1998-2002) for his “attacks” against the “total peace” project.
The defense of the Pastrana Arango brothers, led by the former peace commissioner, Camilo Gómez, questioned the actions of President Petro and ensured that he is legally harassing everyone at who has a different opinion from him or who questions his opinions.
“If a sitting president of the Republic sues a former president, just to give his opinion, think what will happen to the media, to the political parties and to other people who question the work of the presidents (…) as they say, we are growing. in Venezuela,” explained Gómez.
The lawyer said that there are no reasons for this new trial against the former president and his brother to move forward. “We do not find anything different beyond the opinions expressed by each individually, that is, former President Pastrana and Juan Carlos Pastrana are family, not herd, so each one has a different opinion.”
For this reason, the court was of the opinion that the case has no future in any situation or situation as it questions purely personal views and certain concerns expressed in various academic settings and debates, both on social networks and in the media.
At the outset, Gómez asserted that since it was a non-contractual civil liability claim, it was more likely that compensation would be sought, a situation that would also be an abuse of the legal system by the president.
On July 26, 2024, former President Andrés Pastrana Arango sent a new letter to President Gustavo Petro asking him to explain the reasons for the civil lawsuit. This has never been answered after the right of a petition submitted by the Presidency of the Republic and the Legal Secretariat to explain the reasons for this lawsuit.
“For you, the protection of fundamental rights, such as the right to petition, is not important, but I must remind you that it is your responsibility, as a public official, and even more as the head of the administration, to give you an answer. to the petitions that will be given to you. ” Pastrana reviewed.
On the other hand, the former president reminded the president that the omission of this type of response directly represents a disciplinary offense. “I must express my concern regarding your systematic behavior aimed at violating my human rights, in particular the freedom of conscience, the right to express opinions without being persecuted and right to protest as part of the right to freedom of thought and the right to political exercise. activity.”
It must be noted that this is the second lawsuit filed by the president for the comments of the former Conservative president. The first one happened in January this year, when the president accused him of being disrespectful and disgusting, to the point that he reached a settlement procedure, where Petro announced that the his status as president only four years, while his status as a citizen continued. permanently.
“Being a president has a fixed time, but being a citizen and a democrat is permanent. Even at the risk of our own lives (…) I respect differences, but I do not respond to the violence of language, reserved for those who want to benefit from the passing of power, no comments other than a verbal attack,” the president explained in a statement. By Infobae
