Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced by a judge on Friday to 12 years of house arrest for abuse of process and bribery of a public official, in a long-running case over connections to former right-wing paramilitaries.

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.

The 73-year-old is the first ex-president in Colombia's history to be convicted of a crime.