By Emiola Osifeso
A Colombian court has sentenced a 15-year-old boy to seven years in juvenile detention for shooting right-wing presidential candidate Miguel Uribe during a campaign rally in June.
Uribe, a 39-year-old opposition lawmaker, was shot three times, twice in the head, while addressing supporters in Bogotá on June 7. He spent two months in intensive care before dying from a cerebral haemorrhage on August 11.
Prosecutors said the teenager, who cannot face homicide charges under Colombian law once a plea has been accepted, was convicted of attempted murder and illegal weapons possession. He will serve his sentence in a specialised juvenile centre and will not be transferred to an adult prison after turning 18.
Five adults linked to the attack have been arrested and charged with aggravated homicide. Authorities believe dissident factions of the disbanded FARC guerrilla movement were behind the assassination.
The killing has revived memories of Colombia’s violent political past, when five presidential hopefuls were assassinated in the late 20th century.
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