Chile's Supreme Court throws out Pinochet indictment

SANTIAGO, Chile - Chile's Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out the homicide and kidnapping indictment against former dictator Augusto Pinochet, saying his case was not properly handled.

The five-judge panel voted 4-1 in favor of Pinochet, affirming a lower court's decision last week to drop the charges, Justice Humberto Espejo told Radio Bio Bio. The retired general had been charged with organizing the 1973 "Caravan of Death," a military operation that executed 73 political prisoners.

But the decision kept open the possibility for new charges against the 85-year-old former strongman who came to power in a 1973 coup and ruled Chile until 1990.

The Supreme Court ordered Judge Juan Guzman, who brought the original indictment, to conduct a formal interrogation of Pinochet within 20 days - a step required for pressing charges.

The lower court had thrown out the indictment because Pinochet had not been questioned first.

"This was a victory with some taste of defeat for Pinochet," said Hugo Gutierrez, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs against the general. "I would say Pinochet remains almost indicted."

Still, the ruling was the second victory for Pinochet this week in his long legal battle. On Tuesday, the Santiago Court of Appeals ruled that the medical tests to determine Pinochet's fitness to stand trial should be conducted at the army hospital. Opponents had sought the tests at a civilian hospital, claiming a military bias in favor of Pinochet.

Guzman had indicted Pinochet on Dec. 1 on charges he was responsible for the wave of executions shortly after the 1973 coup that ousted Marxist President Salvador Allende. Guzman charged Pinochet with homicide in the deaths of 55 people whose bodies were recovered after the "Caravan of Death," and with kidnapping for the 18 who remain unaccounted for.

The Supreme Court ruling also lifted an order by Guzman putting Pinochet under house arrest, an order that was never implemented. The court ruled after listening lawyers for both sides during more than six hours Monday and Tuesday.

Pinochet has been reported in poor health in recent months. He suffers from diabetes, uses a pacemaker and suffered three mild strokes while under house arrest in London from October 1998 to March of this year.

He had been detained on a warrant by a Spanish judge seeking to try him for human rights violations during his dictatorship. He was released and flew home in March after British doctors said he was physically and mentally unfit to stand trial.

archive