New conviction for Peru spy chief

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Peru's ex-intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail for his involvement in an illegal arms sale.

Colombia's left-wing paramilitary group, Farc, received 10,000 assault rifles under the deal seven years ago.

Montesinos, 61, who served under former President Alberto Fujimori, is already serving prison terms for corruption and plotting to overthrow the government.

Several of his co-defendants received jail terms of up to 15 years.

They include a French financier and two Peruvian brothers who led a gun-running ring.

A Lebanese arms dealer, Sarkis Soghanalian, known as "the merchant of death", was convicted in his absence.

The Peruvian court also ordered Montesinos and some of his co-defendants to pay a fine of 10 million soles ($3.1m).

This will be shared by the governments of Peru and Colombia.

Shadowy force

Montesinos is still facing a number of other charges, including alleged involvement in the creation of paramilitary death squads during his time in charge of the Peruvian intelligence services.

The BBC's Dan Collyns, in Peru, says this latest sentence adds five years to Montesinos's prison time as he is already serving a 15-year term.

Including time served, he is scheduled for release in March 2023, AP news agency reports - just before Montesinos's 78th birthday.

The three-year trial heard how Montesinos had masterminded a deal which saw the assault rifles parachute dropped into the Colombian jungle for use by Farc, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's largest rebel group.

Throughout the trial, Montesinos denied he had anything to do with the arms deal and had in fact helped to uncover it.

Our correspondent says Montesinos, a notorious figure in Peru, is widely regarded as having been the shadowy force behind Mr Fujimori's 10-year presidency.

Mr Fujimori remains in Chile awaiting a decision on his possible extradition to Peru, where he faces charges of corruption and human rights abuse.