Mr. Uribe, a towering figure in Colombian politics, was accused of trying to bribe a former paramilitary to retract testimony damaging to him.

I t took Judge Sandra Heredia over ten hours on July 28th to read her judgment in the case against Álvaro Uribe, Colombia’s president from 2002 to 2010. Her verdict, when it came, was that he was guilty of arranging the bribing of witnesses and of perverting justice.

The ruling, which Uribe’s legal team said he will appeal, is the latest in a long-running, hugely politicised case.