Chile's Supreme Court will today continue hearing an appeal of a court ruling that dismissed charges filed against former dictator Augusto Pinochet. Last week, the Santiago Appeals Court threw out homicide and kidnapping charges filed against Mr Pinochet, and also overturned an order for him to be placed under house arrest. Legal sources say that a ruling might be announced by Wednesday.
The appeal of the 11 December decision is the latest move in a legal battle between Pinochet supporters and prosecutors who want the former dictator put on trial for abuses committed under his twenty-year regime. The house arrest order and the charges were declared invalid by the appeals court last week on grounds that the 85-year-old former dictator had not been interrogated on the charges against him and did not undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
