Augusto Pinochet

General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte{{an|Name}} (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military government that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. He came to power in a violent coup that deposed Salvador Allende, a Marxist physician who had become the first Socialist to be elected President of Chile. The coup ended a period of strained relations between the United States?which had actively sought Allende's removal?and the South American country, and allowed Pinochet to implement profound neoliberal economic reforms and, at the same time, to commit extensive human rights violations, both at home and abroad.

Arrest

While traveling abroad, Pinochet was arrested in October 1998 in London, England, under an international arrest warrant issued by judge Baltasar Garzón of Spain, and he was placed under house arrest: initially in the clinic where he had just undergone back surgery, and later in a luxurious rented house. The charges included 94 counts of torture of Spanish citizens, and one count of conspiracy to commit torture. The government of Chile opposed his arrest, extradition, and trial.

Related Topics:
1998 - London - England - Arrest warrant - Baltasar Garzón - Spain - House arrest - Torture

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There was a hard-fought, 16-month legal battle in England over whether Pinochet was immune from prosecution as a former head of state. The highest court of the land, the House of Lords, decided that only charges after the incorporation of the International Convention against Torture into English law, via the Criminal Justice Act 1988, could be considered, but the ultimate outcome was that extradition could proceed.

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However, after this decision was reached, there were questions about Pinochet's allegedly fragile health. After medical tests, the Home Secretary Jack Straw ruled, despite the protests of legal and medical experts from several countries, that he should not be extradited, and on 2 March 2000, he returned to Chile.

Related Topics:
Jack Straw - 2 March - 2000

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