CHILE: COURT PUTS FORMER DICTATOR GEN. AUGUSTO PINOCHET UNDER HOUSE ARREST.
Former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) came under house arrest for the fourth time at the end of October as efforts to prosecute him for human rights crimes moved forward. On Nov. 8, he lost immunity in the case of the disappearance of a Spanish Catholic priest during his regime. Repeated court decisions have further stripped Pinochet of immunity in a number of cases during the past several months, compounding or upholding prior decisions to make the 90-year-old ex-strongman vulnerable to prosecution (see NotiSur, 2000-08-11, 2004-06-18 and 2005-12-09). On Nov. 14, an appeals court rejected his lawyers' request that he be exonerated for reasons of poor health.
Villa Grimaldi abuses lead to indictment
Pinochet was indicted Oct. 27 for abuses at one of his regime's most infamous secret prisons, where President Michelle Bachelet and her mother were once held and mistreated.
Judge Alejandro Solis formally announced the indictment Oct. 30, when Pinochet was legally notified of the indictment for the abuses at Villa Grimaldi.
Eduardo Contreras, a lawyer for relatives of the victims, confirmed the indictment a few days earlier and said he expected the trial would progress "until Pinochet can be sentenced."
Local media published details of the indictment, saying the former dictator would face charges for one homicide, 36 kidnappings, and 23 cases of torture at the prison used by his secret police in the first five years of his dictatorship. The reports said the indictment includes an order for Pinochet to remain under house arrest at his suburban Santiago mansion.
Pinochet tells judge he doesn't remember torture, killings
Solis said that Pinochet's health, including his mental condition, would not prevent him from standing trial and that "he is lucid enough to understand the consequences of what he says."
Pinochet told the judge on Oct. 18 that he did not remember what his security forces did at the secret detention center where thousands were tortured and hundreds were killed. He claimed he is not responsible for their actions.
The judge was then weighing whether to indict Pinochet. "Many times he answered that he does not remember the facts he was being asked about," said Solis after questioning Pinochet at his home. "He said he was not responsible for what happened and he did not even remember the names of the people."
All previous attempts to try Pinochet have failed after the courts dropped charges based on his poor health...
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