The British Home Secretary, Jack Straw, has indicated he is considering releasing former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet after a medical report showed he was unfit to stand trial. In a statement tonight, the Home Office said the unanimous conclusion of a four-strong medical team who examined Pinochet on January 5th was that he was at present unfit to stand trial, and that no change to that position could be expected. It added that Mr Straw was minded, subject to any representations he may receive, to take the view that no purpose would be served by continuing the present extradition proceedings.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson has given her support to Spain's request that the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet be extradited from Britain to face torture charges. The former president of Ireland also welcomed the ruling of Britain's House of Lords on the Pinochet case as a milestone in the issue of accountability for allegations of violations. Speaking in Madrid at a joint press conference with Spanish foreign minister Abel Matutes, Mrs Robinson said the extradition request was extremely important and a very positive development".
Augusto Pinochet has been under house arrest in England for fifteen months, since his arrest in 1998. In October last year a British court ruled he should be extradited to Spain to face 35 charges of torture during the last years of his dictatorship. Pinochet appealed against the decision and a new five-day hearing has been set for March.
