Noriega convicted for money laundering

A French court has convicted Panama's former military ruler, Manuel Noriega, on charges of laundering drug money, and has sentenced him to seven years in jail.



Noriega had denied taking payments from Colombian drug lords in the 1980s and laundering the money in France.



In April, he was extradited from the US, where he had spent two decades in prison for drug-trafficking.



In 1999, a French court sentenced him to 10 years in his absence, but a fresh trial was held after he was extradited.



The former general was accused of using French banks to conceal profits from the Colombian cocaine trade.



The judge also ordered the seizure of 2.3 million euros of his assets.