The former head of Colombia's secret police, Maria del Pilar Hurtado, has been found guilty on charges of spying on politicians, judges and journalists, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The spying, which aimed to track the political opponents of the then-president Alvaro Uribe, happened between 2007 and 2008.

The Colombian Supreme Court stated Hurtado's sentence would be announced in about 15 days.

Alvaro Uribe’s former chief of staff Bernardo Moreno also was convicted of similar criminal activity.

Hurtado and Moreno could face more than 10 years in jail.

Uribe, the former president under whom the convicted officials worked, denies any knowledge of the illegal spying activity.

The supreme court justices that took part in the case were not among the people who were targeted in the spying. The justices unanimously reaches in favor of the conviction.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Judge Fernando Castro, who announced the verdict, described Hurtado’s wiretapping conduct as “an arbitrary and unjust abuse of authority.”

Moreno will remain free on bail until he is sentenced.

Hurtado, who fled Colombia to seek asylum in 2010 after Uribe left office, is currently being held in prison. Last month, after her asylum had been revoked, she turned herself over to the authorities.

Aside from Hurtado and Moreno, Uribe’s former agriculture minister has also been convicted of corruption.

Several of the former president's former officials are currently being investigated over similar claims.

Uribe, who was in office between 2002 and 2010, is now a senator in the opposition to President Juan Manuel Santos.

“The sentence gives closure to one of the country’s darkest and most troubling episodes over the past decade,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington, D.C., think-tank.

“Unfortunately, given the high degree of polarization in Colombia today, the sentence will be seen through a political lens.”

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