A Colombian court has sentenced a state legislator to 36 years and three months in prison as the mastermind behind the killing of a well-known journalist.

Ferney Tapasco was convicted in the 2002 shooting death of Orlando Sierra, the deputy editor of La Patria newspaper in Manizales, about 165km (102 miles) north-east of Bogotá. The sentence was announced on Wednesday.

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday praised the sentencing, which came after years of delays and a series of questioned rulings in the case.

Sierra had been a harsh critic of politicians in the region.

One of the witnesses in the case testified that Tapasco paid for Sierra to be killed.