Lima- A former military intelligence chief was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday for the 1992 massacre of nine students and one professor in a public university in Lima.

General Julio Salazar Monroe was convicted on charges of murder and forced disappearance of the victims from La Cantuta University, court officials said.

Three of Salazar's former subordinates in the Military Intelligence Service were sentenced to 15-year prison terms each, while two other former agents were acquitted in the case.

Former president Alberto Fujimori and other top military officers are also being prosecuted for ordering the July 18, 1992 killings.

Salazar Monroe was one of the country's key military figures during Fujimori's reign. The court heard evidence that he carried out orders from Vladimiro Montesinos, the head of Peru's national intelligence and Fujimori's right-hand man, who is serving prison terms for corruption and illegal arms' trafficking.

Montesinos also faces dozens of charges in other pending cases, including murder.

Salazar's sentence was one of the harshest ever given to an official of the state for violations of human rights. (dpa)