Colombian former President, Álvaro Uribe has been sentenced to twelve years of house arrest for witness tampering and a fraud charge.
Uribe is the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted of a crime. He has also been barred from public office and fined five hundred and seventy-eight thousand dollars ($578,000).
The former president, who maintains his innocence, told a judge in Bogotá he would appeal against his conviction. He said the case was meant to destroy a voice for the democratic opposition.
He was president from 2002-2010 and remains popular in Colombia, despite being accused of working with right-wing paramilitaries to destroy leftist rebel groups, a claim he denies.
The former president was convicted of two charges on Monday in a witness-tampering case that has run for around 13 years.
