Uribe denies the charges and has appealed the conviction to the Superior Tribunal in Bogota, the country’s capital. The court has until mid-October to issue a definitive ruling on the case, which has gripped Colombia and also provoked reactions from Uribe’s allies in the United States.

The death of Miguel Uribe, two months after the attack against him, marks a return to the worst period of political violence in Colombia.

Bogota's superior court has overturned a judge's order that former Colombia President Alvaro Uribe be held on house arrest while he appeals convictions for bribery of a public official and abuse of process,