12yrs house arrest for Colombian ex-leader Alvaro Uribe

BBC :

Colombian former President Álvaro Uribe has been sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and a fraud charge.

The 73-year-old 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 $578,000.

Uribe, 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.