Montesinos, who was former President Alberto Fujimori's right-hand man, faces charges of brokering illegal arms shipments to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Latin America's largest insurgency.

Montesinos has already been sentenced in five trials and has yet to face charges of illegal enrichment, human rights violations and money laundering, among many others.

In Tuesday's trial, Montesinos is accused of sending weapons to the leftist group with the help of Sarkis Soghanalian, an alleged Lebanese armed dealer who has not been arrested, and Charles Acelor, a French citizen who German authorities extradited to Peru 13 months ago.

In addition to Montesinos, the court will decide on the fate of 37 people, including former military officers and Acelor, who is accused of acting as an intermediary for some of the deals. Acelor faces 15 years in jail.

On December 23, German authorities arrested Yevgen Nepochatov, a Ukrainian who Peruvian authorities believe is involved in the case. The Germans are awaiting an extradition request from Peru.

The several suspects are charged, among other things, with illegal arms trafficking, falsifying documents and crimes that put in peril the country's foreign relations.

Montesinos' attorney, Estela Valdivia, said Monday that her client has been subjected to "cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment" and has not been given the chance to articulate an adequate defense. Montesinos has remained defiantly silent in all of his court appearances.

Valdivia also denied media reports that she is pregnant with Montesinos' child, saying the reports were "a smoke screen" being used to undermine her denunciation of the human rights abuses against her client.

Although Montesinos' health is deteriorating because of the "cruel treatment" he is suffering, the former spy chief "does not fear going to court since there is no evidence against him," she said.

According to the charges, Montesinos, with the backing of Fujimori's government, formed a criminal organization that bought at least 10,000 AK-47s in Jordan. The weapons were parachuted onto Colombian territory controlled by the FARC in 1999, according to the charges.

Ronald Gamarra, the country's anti-corruption prosecutor, said he believes Montesinos was counting on the US Central Intelligence Agency's backing in the arms deals, but he added that he does not have factual proof to back his allegation.

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