Peru sentenced Shining Path founder Abimael Guzman to life in prison yesterday after a year-long retrial for the rebel who led a fanatical war to try to impose communism from 1980 until his capture in 1992.
Guzman, 71, whose Maoist movement is blamed for 31,300 deaths in Peru, sat motionless as he received his sentence in the heavily-guarded naval base north of Lima dressed in a black jacket and white shirt.
Dozens of survivors of Shining Path attacks chanted "murderer" outside the naval base and called for judges to give the gray-haired former philosophy professor life in prison.
Guzman's lawyer Manuel Fajardo said he would appeal the ruling, which followed a seven-hour court session.
Guzman waged a "popular war" from 1980 until 1992, inspired by China's communist leader Mao Zedong, offering dignity to millions of Andean peasants.
But his calls for followers to first cross a "river of blood" and kill 10 percent of the population ultimately alienated supporters and deeply scarred Peru.
In court, Guzman was accused of massacres such as that of 69 people, including 22 children, in an Andean village in 1983.
The anti-terrorist court also sentenced Guzman's longtime lover Elena Iparraguirre to life imprisonment.
Another 10 members of Shining Path's leadership received sentences of between 24 and 35 years in prison.
Guzman was sentenced to life in prison for treason in 1992 under then-President Alberto Fujimori's anti-terror laws. But the hooded judges in military courts were deemed inhumane and the retrial was ordered in 2003 to bring Peru's legal system into line with international standards.
