Chile Prepares to Aid Pinochet's Flight From Prosecutors

by Gustavo Gonzalez

Tuesday was the deadline British Home Secretary Jack Straw set for presenting objections to his decision denying Pinochet's extradition to Spain, for which he cited humanitarian reasons based on the former general's poor health.

Straw said on Jan. 11 that medical examinations of Pinochet conducted earlier this month show that the 84-year-old was too ill to stand trial in Spain, where Judge Baltasar Garzon has charged him with crimes against humanity.

Pinochet was arrested in London 15 months ago at Garzon's request, and has been held under house arrest since.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, as well as Judge Garzon, submitted arguments against Straw's conclusions and asked that the medical reports be made public or that new medical evaluations be conducted.

Straw said in London that he would not make a decision today about releasing Pinochet, as he has to study all the objections received.

But the center-right government, as well as military circles in Chile, maintain their optimism that the British government will repatriate the former dictator and senator-for-life by the end of the week.

Foreign Minister Valdes said last week on local radio that he is pleased with the Spanish government's announcement that it will not appeal Straw's final decision and, therefore, will not fight Pinochet's return to Chile.

Spain's Foreign Minister Abel Matutes forwarded Judge Garzon's request to continue the extradition proceedings, but emphasized that he will not press the issue if the British Home Secretary ultimately opts to release Pinochet.

Valdes predicted that Straw may take some time to review the objections, but said he doubted the official would let another week pass, reaffirming his expectations that the question will be decided by the weekend.

But in the northern city of Iquique, a Boeing-707, refurbished as a sort of flying hospital, was preparing to take off for London.

The aircraft is capable of a 13-hour non-stop flight, according to Chile's Radio Cooperativa, and its route to and from London would include a stop in the Bermuda Islands, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean.

The itinerary would prevent Pinochet from facing another international arrest, as he has been charged with human rights violations by Belgium, France and Switzerland.

In Strasbourg, the European Court on Human Rights rejected a petition Jan. 18 presented by seven Chileans living in Spain who requested that the court intervene to prevent Great Britain from releasing the former dictator.

In Chile, meanwhile, the number of criminal lawsuits brought against Pinochet since February 1998 has grown to 57. They are under Judge Juan Guzman's authority, but he has not yet decided if he will subject the former dictator to trial. There are more than 3,000 legally registered cases of forced disappearances that occurred during the Pinochet dictatorship.

Political and legal experts in Santiago have emphasized that Chilean law does not include humanitarian reasons as cause to prevent an individual from facing trial. Proceedings could only be interrupted if the accused suffers dementia.

Though there are some initiatives to incorporate clemency in penal proceedings, the parliamentarians promoting them believe that now is not the time to renew the proposals, because debate would take place on a stage "contaminated" by the Pinochet case.

Judge Guzman confirmed, however, that if Pinochet returns to Chile, he would immediately request doctors from the Legal Medical Institute to assess the former dictator's mental and physical health.

The judge rejected speculation that socialist Ricardo Lagos's victory in the Jan. 16 presidential elections improves the chances that the former dictator will be tried at home. "The judicial branch is independent and does not tolerate pressure from anyone," he said.

Lagos defeated right-wing candidate Joaquin Lavin in Chile's Jan. 16 run-off elections. During the campaign, both called the Pinochet case a legal issue that must be decided in Chilean courts.