Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery in a historic case that gripped the South American nation and tarnished the conservative strongman’s legacy.

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 (£435,000).

A Colombian judge on Monday convicted former President Alvaro Uribe of abuse of process and bribery of a public official in a long-running witness tampering case, making him the country’s first ex-president to ever be found guilty at trial.