CHILE: Chile's former military dictator Augusto Pinochet has been taken to hospital after reportedly suffering a stroke at the weekend.
Doctors at Santiago's military hospital said yesterday the 89-year-old's health was "stable, and he has made a partial recovery". However, he is expected to remain in hospital until today at least.
The news of the former dictator's deteriorating health comes only days after Juan Guzman, a Chilean judge, formally accused Gen Pinochet of playing a hand in the kidnapping of nine people and the murder of a newspaper seller between 1976 and 1977.
It is thought the crimes were part of Operation Condor, a plan drawn up by the region's military governments in the 1970s to wipe out political opposition.
Human rights lawyers said yesterday they were sceptical of the extent of Gen Pinochet's setback on Saturday, arguing that the timing was suspicious.
A Santiago court is expected to pass judgment today in relation to a last-minute appeal filed last week by Gen Pinochet's lawyers. The appeal was lodged in response to the charges brought against the former dictator by Mr Guzman, and blocked an arrest warrant.
Lawyers said it was likely that Gen Pinochet's apparent relapse on Saturday morning was a ruse to avoid the humiliation of being placed under house arrest and possibly standing trial.
Since his arrest in London in 1998, Gen Pinochet has been fighting an increasingly complex legal battle to avoid going to court to answer charges of human rights abuses committed during his rule from 1973 to 1990.
In addition to last week's charges, Gen Pinochet could be forced to face questions on his alleged participation in the assassination of Carlos Prats, Gen Pinochet's predecessor, and his wife, in Buenos Aires in 1974.
So far, Gen Pinochet's lawyers have managed to frustrate attempts to try the former leader by arguing that their client suffers from dementia. In 2002, a trial into Gen Pinochet's alleged involvement in the so-called Caravan of Death, in which 75 Chileans were kidnapped and murdered in 1975, was dismissed on health grounds.
But on Friday, the day before Gen Pinochet was taken to hospital, Mr Guzman said he had no doubt the former military dictator should answer the latest charges. "It is my conviction that he is mentally fit to go through a trial in all its phases," he said.
Mr Guzman said on Friday that kidnapping in Chile carries a penalty of 10 years and a day, but stopped short of saying such a punishment could be meted out to Gen Pinochet if found guilty, and would not say whether he thought Gen Pinochet would ultimately stand trial. - (Financial Times Service)