Chilean Supreme Court could rule on Pinochet case this week

In this story: Homicide charged in 55 cases Rearrest is possible RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chile's Supreme Court could decide this week whether to reinstate murder and kidnapping charges against former ruler Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The charges were dismissed recently by a lower court.

The ruling could be announced Wednesday or Thursday. Arguments are to continue Tuesday.

The court began Monday to hear prosecutors' challenge of the Santiago Court of Appeals' December 11 decision to block Pinochet's arrest and indictment, which stemmed from alleged kidnappings and deaths of political prisoners during his 17-year rule.

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The lower court threw out the indictment, saying special investigator Judge Juan Guzman failed to interrogate Pinochet.

Homicide charged in 55 cases

Guzman indicted Pinochet on December 1, saying Pinochet was responsible for the actions of the so-called "Caravan of Death," which executed 73 political prisoners after the 1973 coup that ousted Marxist President Salvador Allende.

Guzman charged Pinochet with homicide in 55 of the cases, in which the victims' bodies were recovered, and with kidnapping in 18 cases. The bodies in those latter cases never were recovered.

Prosecutors told the Supreme Court that a questionnaire Pinochet, 85, responded to while under house arrest in London earlier this year should be considered as the mandatory pre-indictment questioning.

Defense lawyer Pablo Rodriguez argued that Pinochet still was protected by his congressional immunity when he responded to the questionnaire. Pinochet's immunity was lifted in August.

Pinochet has been facing a possible trial in Chile on more than 180 counts of human-rights abuses.

He was arrested in Britain in 1998 on a warrant issued by a Spanish judge, who wanted Pinochet to face similar charges in Spain. Pinochet returned to Chile last March when Britain refrained from extraditing him to Spain on grounds that he was too ill to stand trial.

Rearrest is possible

If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court's ruling, Guzman could complete an interrogation of Pinochet and order a new arrest.

Pinochet's lawyers would likely try to block such a move, citing Pinochet's failing health. Pinochet suffers from a variety of ailments.

CNN Correspondent Sebastian Alarcon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pinochet's legal fate in the hands of Chile's Supreme Court
December 11, 2000
Chilean court suspends Pinochet house-arrest order
December 5, 2000
Human rights groups hail Pinochet arrest
December 2, 2000
Pinochet to stand trial in Chile
December 1, 2000
Pending prosecution mars Pinochet's 85th birthday
November 25, 2000
Pinochet undergoes treatment at Chilean hospital for pneumonia
October 29, 2000
Chilean Supreme Court strips Pinochet of immunity
August 8, 2000
Defense: Pinochet never ordered executions, kidnappings
July 21, 2000

Amnesty International
Pinochet Foundation (in Spanish)
Chile President (in Spanish)
Human Rights Watch
UK Home Office

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