Peru's Shining Path Founder Sentenced to Life
Abimael Guzman, founder of Peru's Shining Path guerrilla group, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday.

Guzman, 71, is a former philosophy professor. He was found guilty of "aggravated terrorism" by a civilian court in Peru and sentenced to life in prison.

The group's second-in-command Elena Iparraguirre also received a life sentence and ten other core members of the group received sentences ranging from 24 to 35 years.

Abimael Guzman was captured on Oct. 12, 1992 and had been given a life sentence by a secret military court. The sentence was overturned three years ago after Peru's top court ruled that the military justice system was unconstitutional. Guzman's third trial started in September 2005.

Shining Path, founded by Abimael Guzman in the 1970's, is a major anti-government guerrilla group in Peru. It was blamed for most of the 69,000 deaths and abductions which occurred during the horrific period of political violence, between 1980 and 2000, according to Peru's government-appointed truth commission.

The Shining Path's threat began to fade after Guzman was captured, but rebels continue to be active in the coca-growing jungle region in Peru with several hundred guerrillas providing protection for cocaine traffickers.