Chile's Supreme Court has stripped Gen Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, paving the way for the former dictator to be forced to stand trial for human rights abuses, court sources said yesterday.
However, there was no official confirmation, and sources gave varying estimates of the vote.
The 20 judges hearing the landmark case refused to disclose the outcome of Tuesday's closed-door session, swearing themselves to silence until the verdict is transcribed and then signed by all of them.
But some court sources said the vote went 11-9 against Gen Pinochet, who ruled Chile for 17 years after ousting socialist president Salvador Allende in a 1973 coup. Thousands of opponents of his dictatorship were tortured, murdered or "disappeared".
One of the reasons the Supreme Court opted to keep the verdict a secret was that one or more of the judges might change their minds before signing the verdict, widening the vote at least to 12-8 against Gen Pinochet, the sources said.
As a senator for life in the upper house of Chile's Congress, Gen Pinochet has immunity from prosecution.
Human rights lawyers, who claimed Gen Pinochet should lose the protection because of his alleged involvement in a "Death Caravan" that slaughtered leftists after his forces took over in 1973, also confirmed the vote against the retired general.
"The information we have is that the stripping of the immunity has been confirmed by 11 votes to nine," a human rights attorney, Mr Juan Bustos, said.
Online newspaper http://www.elmostrador.cl reported the vote would end 14-6 against the father figure of Chile's still powerful military.
If the Supreme Court was to confirm the ruling against Gen Pinochet, it could open a floodgate of charges against him. The court's verdicts cannot be appealed.
In May, a Santiago court voted 13-9 to strip Gen Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution. Gen Pinochet appealed against that ruling in the Supreme Court. Two weeks ago judges heard testimony from lawyers representing the families of victims of his 17-year rule and from lawyers defending him.
The Supreme Court President, Judge Hernan Alvarez, said yesterday several of the judges were transcribing the arguments put forward and he expected a formal ruling tomorrow.
"For that reason I rule out a ruling today (Wednesday) although we hope to be able to sign it on Friday," he told reporters. "But I cannot rule out that the writing up of this verdict takes a few days longer, even running to next Tuesday," he said.