The 18th Criminal Judge of the Circuit with Knowledge Function of Bogotá sentenced former congresswoman Aida Merlano to 42 months in prison for the escape she carried out on October 1, 2019, when she escaped by hanging down a rope from a dental office in the north of the capital.

The judicial decision came after endorsing the preliminary agreement signed between the defendant and the Attorney General’s Office.

On November 6, Merlano’s defense formalized before the office the preliminary agreement in which the former representative accepted her responsibility for the crime of prisoner escape. During the hearing, the former congresswoman, deprived of liberty in a military garrison while serving two previous sentences for vote buying and violation of electoral limits. She apologized and reflected on the events that led her to face justice again.

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In her speech, Merlano pointed out that she did not regret the escape itself, but rather the crimes that led her to go to prison for the first time. She also recalled that she has been deprived of liberty for almost seven years, including three in Venezuelan territory, where, she said, she lived in conditions “deplorables” and situations that he described as “terrible”.

She also assured that, although she is not seeking to leave her place of confinement immediately, she does want the “violence” and accusations against her to stop, insisting that only she knows the reasons that led her to make the decision to flee that morning in 2019.

After reviewing the terms of the agreement and verifying its legality, the judge issued a sentence: 42 months in prison, equivalent to 3 years and 5 additional months, which are added to the sentences already served by the former conservative representative.

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