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Pinochet Becomes a Free Man as Court Lifts House Arrest
Gen. Augusto Pinochet became a free man again on Wednesday after a court lifted his house arrest after 43 days.
The Santiago Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to uphold a decision by Judge Juan Guzman granting the former dictator freedom on $3,450 bail.
The end of Pinochet's house confinement came after the Court of Appeals dropped homicide and kidnapping charges filed by Guzman. The charges stemmed from the "Caravan of Death," a military group that executed 75 political prisoners in various cities shortly after a 1973 coup led by Pinochet. He ruled Chile until 1990.
In dropping those charges, the court ruled that Pinochet must still face cover-up charges for the crimes, because while he learned of them after they occurred, he failed to report them to the courts of justice.
The original indictment charged Pinochet with homicide for 57 victims whose bodies were recovered and with kidnapping for 18 who remain unaccounted for.
Pinochet served his house arrest at his countryside estate in Bucalemu, 80 miles southwest of Santiago, where he was seen taking a stroll shortly after the court ruling was announced.
The court's decision was widely expected.
Pinochet's defense lawyer Miguel Schweitzer called it "a normal decision, and we must now concentrate in the next legal step, which is having the court close the case because of Gen. Pinochet's poor health." The court is expected to rule on that by the end of March.
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