Shining Path leaders fail to show for trial

A Peruvian court trying Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman and other members of his group over a deadly 1992 bombing in Lima adjourned Tuesday after he failed to show up.

The court hearing coincided with the 25th anniversary of the capture of Guzman, who is serving a life sentence for terrorism offenses.

But it quickly adjourned when it became clear Guzman and other Shining Path leaders on trial had not been transferred to the court from prison.

"In the absence of the accused, the hearing was adjourned to next week and a report will be requested from the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) for the reasons they were not transferred," court president Rene Martinez said.

"I don't know the reason why he wasn't transferred. It's a logistics problem. We expect an explanation from INPE," Guzman's lawyer Alfredo Crespo told reporters.

Guzman and the leadership of his Maoist-inspired group are on trial for a 1992 car bomb attack in the capital Lima that killed 25 people.

His arrest in 1993 marked the beginning of the end of Peru's two-decade civil conflict, which cost the lives of 69,000 people.

Among the accused is Guzman's partner as well as the organization's number two, Elena Iparraguirre.

The lawyer for another of the accused, Florindo Flores, said his client had begun a hunger strike because he accused the authorities of "placing video cameras in his bathroom."

The court asked for clarification of the allegation from the prison authorities.

Source: AFP