A Chilean air force jet is due to arrive in Britain today in anticipation of a decision by the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, that Gen Augusto Pinochet will not be extradited to Spain to face charges of torture.
The deadline for interested parties to submit objections to Mr Straw's declaration that he was "minded" to halt the extradition proceedings passed at 5 p.m. yesterday with interested parties calling for more medical tests in a final attempt to keep the former dictator in Britain.
Amnesty International, the Redress Trust, the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and the Relatives of the Disappeared in Chile and the Spanish investigating judge, Mr Baltasar Garzon, all lodged written submissions.
Amnesty's secretary general, Mr Pierre Sane, said the medical process established by Mr Straw to determine Gen Pinochet's state of health was "unfair" and made it impossible for interested parties to exercise their right to read or challenge the medical reports.
In a statement, Mr Sane said Dr Robert Howard, of the Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in London, had submitted that the medical experts who examined Gen Pinochet did not establish beyond doubt that he was suffering from dementia or that his medical condition was irreversible.
It was suggested that Gen Pinochet could have taken sleeping tablets before the medical tests so that he appeared confused. "All we are asking for is that Jack Straw takes his final decision after a fair process. This should be about law and justice, not politics," the statement said.
The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture said all interested parties should have had access to the medical reports on which Mr Straw based his opinion. Allowing Gen Pinochet to return to Chile without new medical tests "would be to fly in the face of natural justice, and make a mockery of the continued suffering of the thousands of people tortured and bereaved by his regime," it said.
The request for more medical tests came after the Home Secretary's declaration that he was minded to send Gen Pinochet back to Chile on the grounds that medical examinations had shown he was unfit to stand trial. The Spanish government has already said it will not appeal against Mr Straw's decision, which is expected later this week.
Mr Straw said the submissions he had received required the most careful consideration, but "there's no question of my making a decision today. I've got to give proper consideration to all the representations which I've received," he told BBC radio. However, even if Mr Straw halts extradition proceedings, campaigners are hoping the Director of Public Prosecutions will prevent his departure by saying he considers there is still a case for him to answer under UK law.
A spokesman for the pro-democracy group Chile Democratico in London said the relatives of the disappeared were hoping for a last-minute change of mind by Mr Straw. Mr Carlos Reyes said: "I think if I was Pinochet I would be more cautious than to order the plane."
Mr Reyes said he did not believe the promise made by Mr Ricardo Lagos, Chile's newly-elected socialist president, that the former dictator would be put on trial in the civil courts. "The constitution will have to be rewritten, but the military will never accept Pinochet being put on trial," Mr Reyes said.