Pinochet to stand trial in Chile

A Chilean judge has ordered the arrest of Gen. Augusto Pinochet

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Former military ruler Augusto Pinochet must return to house arrest after a Chilean judge ordered him to stand trial on kidnapping charges stemming from his iron-fisted 1973 to 1990 rule.

Pinochet was indicted in connection with the disappearance of 19 prisoners at the hands of the so-called "caravan of death" in the early months of his rule.

Judge Juan Guzman ordered the 85-year-old former military ruler to be held under house arrest in Chile up to and during the trial, for which no date has been set.

Human rights' groups around the world hailed the move, which was immediately denounced by Pinochet supporters as a travesty of justice.

According to a report by the civilian government that succeeded him, more than 3,000 people "disappeared" or were killed under the watch of Pinochet, after he wrested control from democratically elected Socialist President Salvador Allende.

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Last week, Pinochet made a hesitant admission of responsibility for atrocities the military committed during his rule, saying in a taped message for his 85th birthday that he accepts "all the facts."

"As a former president of the republic, I accept all the facts that they say the army and the armed forces did," Pinochet said, speaking hesitatingly. But he also added that some of the accusations against his government are just propaganda.

The Chilean courts, once loyal to Pinochet, had earlier stripped him of the immunity from prosecution he claimed as senator for life, a position he assumed when he left the presidency in 1990.

In 1998 Pinochet was placed under house arrest in England, where he remained for 16 months while international lawyers wrangled over a Spanish judge's request for his extradition on human rights abuse charges.

However, the ailing former dictator returned to Chile in March, after British Home Secretary Jack Straw eventually ruled that he was too ill to stand trial.

Pinochet's health may yet keep him from standing trial. The judge handling the case in Santiago has ordered medical and neurological tests to determine Pinochet's fitness, and local law requires psychological tests for anyone over 70 facing trial.

But the Spanish human rights lawyers who led efforts to prosecute former Chilean dictator Pinochet in Spain hailed the arrest as a move in the right direction.

Juan Garces said: "It is a positive step for universal justice and the citizens of Chile to affirm their independence and their ability to apply the law to the biggest criminal in the history of Chile."

Garces credited Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon with kick-starting the process by investigating Pinochet and securing his arrest.

The executive director of Human Rights Watch-Americas Division, Jose Miguel Vivanco, also praised the move: "It helps in many ways to re-establish the credibility of the Chilean judiciary."

He added: "The judge in charge of the case, Judge Juan Guzman, has been doing very thorough and careful work and this is a historic development in terms of the fight against impunity for atrocities in Chile."

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International, a party to the London proceedings, said the judicial impunity long enjoyed by Pinochet in Chile now seemed to be eroding.

"We welcome the fact that the wheels of justice seem to be moving in the right direction. For years there have been layers of impunity in Chile. At long last they are being peeled away."

But supporters of the former dictator condemned the action.

"This is an aberration of jurisprudence," said lawyer Fernando Barros, who has frequently spoken in defence of Pinochet.

He said the indictment was an attempt by "certain persons" intended on changing historical truths.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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Chilean Supreme Court strips Pinochet of immunity
Defense: Pinochet never ordered executions, kidnappings

Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
UK Home Office

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