Chile's Pinochet Resorts to Court of AppealsThe lawyer for Chile's former leader Augusto Pinochet filed an appeal at the Santiago Court of Appeals Saturday against an order to put Pinochet under house arrest before a trial.Gustavo Collao, the lawyer of Pinochet for nearly 20 years, argued that Chilean Judge Juan Guzman issued the order without even questioning Pinochet first, and that the order should be considered "illegal and arbitrary." The lawyer also said Pinochet should undergo a medical examination to ensure that he is physically fit for trial. Guzman issued the house-arrest order Friday after he indicted Pinochet for kidnapping 18 people and connection with 57 homicides committed by the "Death Caravan," one of the most notorious cases of human rights violations during his 1973-90 reign. Plaintiffs, human rights activists and relatives of the victims claim the members of the caravan acted on orders form Pinochet. However, there are so far no proofs mentioned in official documents showing that Pinochet was truly involved in those activities. The house-arrest order will be no longer in effect if the court accepts the appeal. |
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