On April 23rd, the Office of the Attorney General charged the mayor of Popayán, Juan Carlos López Castrillón for the alleged offense of misrepresentation.
This fact which is considered a serious offense by the Colombian justice, was brought before the competent judges.
Today, the Office of the Attorney General, within the framework of a rights-based position, decided to withdraw the request of preventive detention against the local official considering that “although the conduct which is investigated constitutes a serious offense, the conditions established in articles 308 and following in the Colombian Criminal Procedure Code to impose such a measure have not been fulfilled, that is, that the defendant could pose a danger to the victim or the community, that might obstruct justice or that he will not appear during the process”.
Furthermore, taking into account that Decree 593 of April 24, 2020, extended the mandatory preventive isolation until May 11, 2020, an additional freedom restrictive measure has been considered as unnecessary in this case.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the mayor of Popayán, Juan Carlos López Castrillón will be linked to the process as a defendant and an indictment will be filed against him for the above-mentioned offense.
The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.