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Chile Appeals Court Drops Charges Against Pinochet
The 5th Chamber of Santiago's Court of Appeals Monday, December 11, lifted a house arrest order against Chile's former leader Augusto Pinochet and dropped charges of kidnapping and murder against him.
This is the first victory for the defense in the Pinochet case. Yet lawyers for the plaintiffs said they would immediately appeal to Chile's Supreme Court, which is expected to make a ruling on Thursday.
The three-member court of appeals panel voted unanimously to remove judge Juan Guzman's order of detention and indictment against Pinochet, saying the order had been issued illegally. According to Chilean laws, people must be interrogated before they can be tried.
Guzman, who ordered on December 1 to put Pinochet under house arrest and bring him to trial, insisted that the procedure was legal. Two questionnaires had been sent to Pinochet while he was under house arrest in London. Guzman thought the questionnaires could be considered as formal questioning.
But the defense lawyers said Pinochet had not answered the questions, although he did respond that he was innocent.
Pinochet, 85, was charged with homicide for 55 victims and kidnapping 18 people. So far, he still faces 190 lawsuits for alleged rights abuses during his rule from 1973 to 1990.
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