Alberto Fujimori was extradited from Chile earlier this year

Fujimori in court

He was found guilty of ordering the removal of sensitive video and audio tapes from a flat belonging to the wife of his former intelligence chief.

Mr Fujimori is the first ex-Peruvian head of state to have been convicted of crimes committed while in office.

The sentence comes a day after he went on trial for human rights violations.

Mr Fujimori is accused of authorising two death squad massacres, in which 25 people were killed, during a campaign against the left-wing Shining Path insurgency in the early 1990s.

He denies the charges. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

'Vladi Videos'

In a separate hearing on Tuesday, Supreme Court Judge Pedro Guillermo Urbina found Mr Fujimori guilty of having a military aide pose as a prosecutor and search without a warrant the apartment of the wife of spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos in November 2000.

During the illegal raid, police removed dozens of boxes of videos suspected to contain incriminating evidence of corrupt practices.

The tapes, which the Peruvian media have termed "Vladi Videos", had been secretly made by Mr Montesinos showing himself bribing broadcasters and opposition politicians.

Mr Montesinos, who has been in prison for the last six years, has said he was just doing his master's bidding.

In an earlier hearing, Mr Fujimori admitted ordering the police raid without a warrant, but said he had been looking for evidence of money laundering.

His lawyer said he would appeal against the sentence.

Mr Fujimori, who was extradited from Chile earlier this year, also faces other separate charges of corruption relating to his time in office between 1990 and 2000.