Cameras were banned from court after the first hearing was disrupted

Abimael Guzman, 69, is being retried on terror charges in a civilian tribunal, after his 1992 conviction by a military court was overturned last year.

Lawyer Manuel Fajardo said he was being barred from seeing Mr Guzman in prison, according to the Associated Press.

Peruvian authorities may have taken action after Mr Guzman and his 15 co-defendants disrupted the first hearing.

The judge was forced to suspend the hearing last Friday after the alleged rebel leaders rose to their feet and chanted revolutionary slogans.

'Rights violation'

Mr Fajardo told AP he was now being kept away from Mr Guzman.

He said: "They won't even let me enter the prison. They haven't given me any explanation. This goes against the right to a defence."

He said he had met his client at the maximum security prison, inside a naval base at Lima's Callao port, every Monday for the past three years.

Mr Fajardo said he intended to start the next hearing, scheduled for Friday, by protesting the violation of his client's legal rights.

The Peruvian court has said it will ban cameras and tape recorders from future hearings after Mr Guzman and his co-defendants hijacked media coverage of the case with their demonstration.

The government has also named former Supreme Court judge Guillermo Cabala as a special state attorney to bolster its handling of terrorism cases.

Mr Guzman led an insurgency in which tens of thousands died in the 1980s and 1990s.