A court in Chile has taken the first steps towards a possible trial of the country's former dictator Augusto Pinochet. It has heard arguments that he should be stripped of his immunity from prosecution and tried for human rights abuses during his 1973-1990 dictatorship. A ruling is expected in the next few weeks.
At the Santiago appeals court, which drew to a close yesterday after three days of testimony, lawyers said that the military officers were acting under orders from Pinochet, who was then the army's top commander, when they committed the human rights abuses. The lawyers argued that these officers formed what has been termed the "Death Caravan" – a military squad that travelled through Chile in a helicopter in October 1973 in search of leftists, killing at least 72 people. Some of the bodies were never found.
Pinochet currently cannot face trial because he changed the Constitution in 1980 to give all presidents who served six years the right to become a senator for life with immunity from prosecution. But, if the courts deem it appropriate, they can take away this protection from members of Congress. More than 3,000 people were killed or disappeared during Pinochet's regime.
Pinochet's lawyer, Ricardo Rivadeneira, told the court that the 84-year-old former president is too old to properly communicate with his lawyers to map out a defence strategy. He also said Pinochet was protected by a law that grants amnesty to those responsible for human rights abuses caused by political violence during his 17-year rule.
Next Tuesday, the head of the appeals court is expected to announce when the judges will meet to deliberate. A date for a verdict has not been set. If the court agreed to strip Pinochet of his immunity, he could appeal to the Supreme Court.
