**A fourth trial of ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, on charges of bribery and illegal phone-tapping, has begun in Peru’s capital, Lima.**It is the final trial to be faced by Fujimori, who is already serving three prison sentences for crimes including ordering killings by security forces.
The latest charges relate to a corruption scandal which brought down his government in 2000.
His lawyers say the case is intended to damage his daughter’s election chances.
Polls suggest Keiko Fujimori is among the leading candidates in presidential elections due in 2011.
‘Judicial persecution’
Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, returned from exile in late 2007 to face a number of charges.
In April this year, he was sentenced to 25 years in jail for ordering killings and kidnappings by the security forces.
He was sentenced to a further seven-and-a-half years for embezzlement in July after being convicted by Peru’s Supreme Court of giving $15m (£9.3m) in state funds to his spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos.
Fujimori admitted making the payment, but said he later repaid the money.
He was already serving a six-year term after being found guilty in 2007 on separate charges of abuse of power.
The latest trial relates to charges that through Montesinos, Fujimori bugged and bribed opposition politicians, journalists and businessmen.
The prosecution, which says it has “abundant proof” against Fujimori, has asked for an eight-year sentence.
More than 150 witnesses are expected to be called to testify in the case.
Fujimori’s defence lawyers claim the case amounts to the political and judicial persecution of the former president, which they say is intended to weaken his daughter’s election prospects.
A series of videos leaked in 2000, showing Montesinos handing over piles of cash to prominent opposition leaders and media figures, prompted him and Fujimori to flee the country.
Montesinos is currently in jail, convicted on dozens of charges including drug-trafficking and selling guns to Colombian rebels.