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The Supreme Court Thursday sentenced ex-Senator Ciro Ramirez Pinzon to seven years and six months in prison for ties to paramilitary groups.
The conservative senator from the Boyaca department was confirmed by the court to have made an alliance with the Central Bolivar bloc of the AUC to help him win a seat in Congress in 2002.
A fine of $1.8 million (COP3.4 billion) was also imposed on the ex-official.
Ramirez was absolved of his charges in 2010 by a Bogota judge, but in January of 2011 the Supreme Court re-opened his case along with two other officials who had either been absolved or released early.
