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Chilean Supreme Court Confirms Pinochet Immunity Stripping
Chile's Supreme Court ratified Tuesday by 14 votes in favor and six against stripping former life-long Senator Augusto Pinochet of his immunity, paving the way for him to be forced to stand trial for alleged human rights abuses.
Judges' voting against the immunity stripping had supported Pinochet having to undergo medical tests.
Human rights lawyers had fought to have Pinochet's immunity removed because of his alleged involvement in a "Death Caravan" incident that slaughtered leftists after his forces ousted elected socialist President Salvador Allende in a bloody 1973 coup.
In May, a Santiago court voted 13-9 to strip Pinochet, 84, of his immunity from prosecution. Pinochet appealed against that ruling in the Supreme Court.
Three weeks ago, judges heard testimony from lawyers representing the families of victims of Pinochet's 17-year rule and from lawyers defending him.
Pinochet ousted socialist President Salvador Allende in a bloody September 1973 coup. More than 3,000 people died or disappeared while Pinochet was president and tens of thousands of other Chileans fled the country.
One of the most infamous incidents of the era involved the so-called "Death Caravan," a military helicopter unit that blitzed through northern Chile in October 1973 in search of union leaders and left-wing supporters of Allende. At least 72 people were killed.
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