A Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, who helped the US track down Osama bin Laden has been convicted of high treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison. Afridi also was ordered to pay a fine of about $3,500 and will spend an additional three and half years in prison if he does not.

The doctor ran a vaccination program for the CIA in order to collect DNA and verify the Al-Qaeda founder's presence at the compound in the town of Abbottabad.

Tried for treason, Afridi had no right to legal representation, to present material evidence or cross-examine witnesses. Senior US officials, including Hilary Clinton, have called for Afridi to be released, saying his work served Pakistani and American interests.

Although the operation outraged Pakistani officials in the aftermath of bin Laden's death, because they were not told about it beforehand, this latest move is predicted to strain relations between Pakistan and the US even further.