Chile's Santiago Appeals Court ruled Monday that the country's former President Augusto Pinochet was mentally unfit to stand trial on charges of concealing political killings.
The three-judge panel of the Santiago Appeals Court voted 2-1 to suspend the legal action against Pinochet, the court’s spokeswomen Teresa Hernandez said, adding that the tribunal has suspended the charges against Pinochet indefinitely, after six weeks of arguments from defense attorneys seeking to have the case dropped.
The trial of Pinochet could be resumed if the former general’s health improves. But this possibility is considered remote, as the 85-year-old Pinochet suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis.
Pinochet spent six days hospitalized last week and underwent dental surgery and treatment for high blood pressure.
Pinochet's oldest son, Augusto Pinochet Hiriart, said Sunday that his father's health "required care, but there is no danger of death."
The former Chilean leader's lawyers emphasized that the retired general's poor health prevents him from properly organizing his defense, thus depriving him of his constitutional right to a just trial.
Pinochet is charged in connection with the so-called "Caravan of Death," a military operation that killed 75 political prisoners shortly after the 1973 military coup in which he ousted President Salvador Allende. Pinochet faces charges of covering up 18 kidnappings and 57 homicides.
"It is a defeat for justice in Chile, we are considering an appeal," said Carmen Hertz, an attorney prosecuting Pinochet. Monday's ruling can be appealed to the Chilean Supreme Court but few in Chile believe Pinochet will ever appear in court, given the lengthy appeals process, the ex-general's age and poor health, and the political sensitivities surrounding his legacy.
More than 3,000 suspected leftists were killed by security forces or disappeared during Pinochet's 1973-1990 rule.
The "Caravan of Death" was the key accusation in efforts to bring him to trial in Chile after he was freed from 16 months’ detention in Britain last year.
(Xinhua News Agency 07/10/2001)
