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05/28/2004:
"Maybe Bush Will Get His One Day"
Pinochet stripped of immunityguardian
A Chilean court stripped the country's former dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, of his immunity from prosecution today, paving the way for his trial on human rights charges.
The court in Santiago voted 14-9 to lift the immunity Pinochet enjoys as a former president.
An appeal against the decision may still be launched at the supreme court, which has repeatedly ruled that Pinochet, 88, is neither physically nor mentally fit to stand trial.
A 2002 report by court-appointed doctors stated that Pinochet suffers from diabetes, arthritis and a mild case of dementia. He also uses a pacemaker and has had at least three mild strokes since 1998.
Prosecution lawyer Francisco Bravo said the court's decision came as a surprise.
"We receive this with deep surprise but also with deep pride," he said. "We stress that what was at stake today was not Pinochet's health, but the principle of equality before the law."
...Without immunity, Pinochet could be prosecuted for 108 different criminal complaints lodged against him.
Chile's state defence council, which participated in the effort to remove his immunity, has investigated several high-profile murders committed during the 1973-90 dictatorship.
full article
Chile:Voices
