BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — An appeals court on Tuesday overturned the conviction of Colombian ex-President Álvaro Uribe for bribery and witness tampering in a historic case that gripped the South American nation and tarnished the conservative strongman’s legacy.

Uribe, 73, has denied any wrongdoing. He was sentenced to 12 years in house arrest in August following a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that he attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group in the 1990s.

Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, has called his conviction political persecution, claiming that the judge was biased against him. In the appeal, his lawyers questioned the validity of the evidence and argued that the former president’s responsibility was not “unequivocally” proven.

Prosecutors can appeal Tuesday’s ruling to Colombia’s Supreme Court.

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