Main articles: Augusto Pinochet
'General
Augusto José Pinochet Ugarte' (
November 25,
1915–
December 10,
2006) was head of the
military dictatorship that ruled
Chile from 1973 to 1990. He came to power in a violent
coup which deposed the democratically elected
socialist President
Salvador Allende. His regime has been accused of numerous
human rights violations as part of
Operation Condor, an illegal effort to suppress
socialism in
Latin America, and he was also accused of using his position to pursue personal enrichment through
embezzlement of government funds. In the last decade of his life, Pinochet was indicted by the
Spanish government, arrested and released by the
British government and, finally, arrested and prosecuted by the Chilean government itself.
Pinochet's attorneys, headed by
Pablo Rodríguez Grez, argued that he was entitled to
immunity from prosecution as a former
head of state, and that his poor health made him unfit to stand trial. At the time of his death in 2006, Pinochet was facing over 300 criminal charges in Chile.
[1]
Charges
The
Rettig Report found that at least 2,279 persons were conclusively
murdered by the Chilean government for political reasons during Pinochet's rule, and the
Valech Report found that at least 30,000 persons were
tortured by the government for political reasons.
Arrest
In 1998 Pinochet, who still had much influence in Chile, travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment. While there, he was arrested under an international
arrest warrant issued by judge
Baltasar Garzón of Spain, and was placed under
house arrest: initially in the clinic where he had just undergone back surgery, and later in a 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 to Spain, and trial.
There was a hard-fought 16-month legal battle in the
House of Lords, the highest court of the United Kingdom.
[1] Pinochet claimed immunity from prosecution as a former head of state under the
State Immunity Act 1978. This was rejected, but the Lords decided that the crime for which extradition was sought had to be a crime under both Spanish and U.K. law at the time of commission of the crime rather than at the time of extradition and that extradition could therefore be sought only for torture committed after 1988. This invalidated most, but not all, of the charges against him; but the outcome was that extradition could proceed.
He was eventually released on medical grounds by the then Home Secretary,
Jack Straw. He returned to Chile and resigned his senatorial seat in 2002, after a Supreme Court ruling that he suffered from "vascular dementia" and therefore could not stand trial for human rights abuses—allegations of abuses had been made numerous times before his arrest, but never acted upon. In May 2004, Chile's supreme court ruled that he was capable of standing trial, and he was charged with several crimes in December of that year.
Public positions
In April 1999, Margaret Thatcher
[2] and
George H. W. Bush[3] called upon the British government to release Augusto Pinochet. They urged that Pinochet be allowed to return to his homeland rather than be forced to go to Spain. Amnesty International
[4] and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture demanded his extradition to Spain.
There were then 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.
Supporters of Pinochet credit him with staving off the beginning of
Communism, fighting terrorism from radical groups such as
MIR, and implementing
free market policies that laid the groundwork for rapid economic growth that continued into the 1990s. His opponents charge him with destroying Chile's democracy, including by repressing radical groups such as MIR pushing for change, pursuing a policy of
state terrorism, catering exclusively for private interests, and adopting economic policies that favored the wealthy and hurt the country's middle- and low-income sectors. While it was originally denied by his supporters, it is now generally accepted that Pinochet's government was responsible for torturing and killing thousands of people perceived to be opponents.
Significance of the arrest
Despite his release on grounds of ill-health, the unprecedented detention of Pinochet in a foreign country for crimes against humanity committed in his own country, without a warrant or request for extradition from his own country, marks a watershed in international law. Some scholars consider it one of the most important events since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals.
Spanish judge
Baltasar Garzón's case was largely founded on the principle of
universal jurisdiction—that certain crimes are so egregious that they constitute crimes against humanity and can therefore be prosecuted in any court in the world. The British House of Lords ruled that Pinochet had no right to immunity from prosecution as a former head of state, and could be put on trial. (''See''
The Ripple Effect of the Pinochet Case.)
The significance of this case was that it was the first time that the
universal basis of jurisdiction over the person had been used as grounds for
extradition. In the case of
Adolf Eichmann, Israel claimed jurisdiction over the offense on the grounds of universal jurisdiction and over Eichmann on his presence in Israel.
Prosecution in Chile
On 23 May, 2000, the
Court of Appeal of
Santiago lifted Pinochet's parliamentary immunity concerning the
Caravan of Death case. This was confirmed by the
Supreme Court of Chile, which voted on August 8, 2000, by 14 voices against 6, to strip Pinochet of his parliamentary immunity. On 1st December, 2000, the judge
Juan Guzmán Tapia indicted Pinochet for the death of 75 opponents in the Caravan of Death case. However, as soon as 11 December, 2000, the procedure was suspended by the Court of Appeal of Santiago for medical motives. In January 2001, the physicians stated that Pinochet was suffering from a "light dementia". On 8 March, 2000, the Court of Appeal confirmed Pinochet's indictement in the Caravan of Death case, but only as an "accomplice" and not as its main responsible. However, the judiciary procedures were again suspended on 9 July, 2001 because of alleged health reasons.
In July 2002, the Supreme Court dismissed Pinochet's indictment in the various cases, for medical reasons (an alleged vascular
dementia). The same year, the
prosecuting attorney Hugo Guttierez, in charge of the Caravan of Death case, declared that "Our country has the degree of justice that the
political transition permits us to have.
[ "The Appeals Court Ruling Is Negotiated Out for Pinochet", Interview with Attorney Hugo Gutierrez, by ''Memoria y Justicia'', February 21, 2002 ]"
Shortly after the verdict, Pinochet resigned from the Senate and lived quietly. He rarely made public appearances and was notably absent from the events marking the 30th anniversary of the coup on
September 11,
2003. Almost two years after his resignation, on
May 28,
2004, the Court of Appeals voted 14 to 9 to revoke Pinochet's dementia status and, consequently, his immunity from prosecution. In arguing their case, the prosecution presented a recent television interview Pinochet had given for a
Miami-based television network. The judges found that the interview raised doubts about the mental incapacity of Pinochet.
On
August 26,
2004, in a 9 to 8 vote, the Supreme Court confirmed the decision that Pinochet should lose his senatorial immunity from prosecution. On
December 2,
2004, the Santiago Appeals Court stripped Pinochet of immunity from prosecution over the 1974 assassination of General
Carlos Prats, his predecessor as Army Commander-in-Chief, who was killed by a car bomb during exile in Argentina. On
December 13,
2004,
Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia placed Pinochet under house arrest and indicted him over the disappearance of nine opposition activists and the killing of one of them during his regime. On
March 24,
2005, the Supreme Court reversed the Santiago Appeals Court ruling in the
Carlos Prats case, and affirmed Pinochet's immunity in that particular case. In the
Operation Colombo case involving the killing of 119 dissidents, the Supreme Court decided to strip Pinochet of his immunity in a ruling issued on
September 14 2005.
[2] The following day he was acquitted of the human rights case due to his ill health. Late in
November 2005, he was deemed fit to stand trial by the Chilean Supreme Court and was indicted on human rights, for the disappearance of six dissidents arrested by Chile's security services in late 1974, and again placed under house arrest, on the eve of his 90th birthday.
In July 2006, the Supreme Court upheld a January 2006 judgment by the Court of Appeal of Santiago, which argued that the 2002 Supreme Court's ruling stating that Pinochet could not be prosecuted in the Caravan of Death case did not apply itself to two of its victims, former bodyguards of Allende
[5].
[6].
On
September 9,
2006, Pinochet was stripped of his immunity by the Chilean
Supreme Court[7]. Judge
Alejandro Madrid was thus able to indict him for the
kidnappings and tortures at
Villa Grimaldi[8]. Furthermore, Pinochet was indicted in October 2006 for the assassination, in 1992, of the DINA biochemist
Eugenio Berrios [ Levée de l'immunité de Pinochet pour le meurtre d'un chimiste, news agency cable, 12 October 2006 ].
On
October 30,
2006, Pinochet was charged with 36 counts of kidnapping, 23 counts of
torture, and one of
murder for the torture and disappearance of opponents of his regime at Villa Grimaldi. On 28 November, 2006, judge Víctor Montiglio, charged of the Caravan of Death case, ordered Pinochet's
house arrest [9]. However, Pinochet died a few days later, on 10 December, 2006, without having been convicted of any crimes committed during his dictatorship.
Tax fraud and foreign bank accounts
The
U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report about
Riggs Bank on
July 15,
2004, which had solicited Pinochet and controlled between USD $4 million and $8 million of his assets. According to the report, Riggs participated in
money laundering for Pinochet, setting up offshore
shell corporations (referring to Pinochet as only "a former public official"), and hiding his accounts from regulatory agencies. The report said the violations were "symptomatic of uneven and, at times, ineffective enforcement by all federal bank regulators, of bank compliance with their anti-money-laundering obligations." Five days later, a Chilean court formally opened an investigation into Pinochet's finances for the first time, on allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds, and bribery. Then, a few hours later, the state prosecutor, Chile's
State Defense Council (''Consejo de Defensa del Estado)'', presented a second request for the same judge to investigate Pinochet's assets, but without directly accusing him of crimes. On
October 1,
2004, Chile's Internal Revenue Service ("Servicio de Impuestos Internos") filed a lawsuit against Pinochet, accusing him of fraud and tax evasion, for the amount of USD $3.6 million in investment accounts at Riggs between 1996 and 2002. Pinochet could face fines totaling 300 percent of the amount owed, and prison time, if convicted. Aside from the legal ramifications, this evidence of financial impropiety has severely embarrassed Pinochet. According to the State Defense Council, his hidden assets could never have been acquired solely on the basis of his salary as President, Chief of the Armed Forces, and Life Senator. Late in November of 2005, he was deemed fit to stand trial by the Chilean Supreme Court and was indicted and put under house arrest on
tax fraud and
passport forgery charges but was released on bail; however, he remained under house arrest due to unrelated human rights charges.
This tax fraud filing, related to Pinochet's and his family secret bank accounts in United States and in Caraïbs islands, for an amount of 27 million dollars, shocked the Chilean public opinion more than the accusations of criminal activities. Ninety percent of these funds would have been raised between 1990 and 1998, when Pinochet was chief of the Chilean armies, and would essentially have come from weapons traffic (when purchasing Belgian 'Mirage' air-fighters in 1994, Dutch 'Léopard' tanks, Swiss 'Mowag' tanks or by illegal sales of weapons to Croatia, in the middle of the Balkans war.) General Pinochet would owe to the Chilean tax administration a total of $16.5 million. In that case Pinochet's immunity was set off by the Appeal Court of Santiago, and this was confirmed by the Supreme court on
October 19 2005. The judiciary procedure may eventually lead to a trial for Pinochet, his wife Lucia Hiriart and one of his sons, Marco Antonio Pinochet, sued for complicity. Judge
Juan Guzmán Tapia — sometimes called "Pinochet's hunter" — remains skeptic on the probability of a trial, either for human rights violations or for fiscal fraud. However, some medical examinations reported that the physical and mental health condition of the former Chilean dictator would allow him to be judged. On
November 23 2005, judge Carlos Cerda charged Pinochet for fiscal fraud and ordered his arrest. Pinochet was freed under caution, as following the judgment minutes, "his freedom did not represent a danger for the security of the society", but it is the fourth time in seven years that Augusto Pinochet is indicted and charged for illegal behavior.
On
23 February 2006 Augusto Pinochet's children Lucía, Jacqueline, Marco Antonio, Jacqueline and Verónica Pinochet; Augusto Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart; a daughter-in-law; and Pinochet's personal secretary were indicted on charges of tax fraud, including failing to declare bank accounts overseas, and using false passports. Lucía flew to the US, but was detained and returned to Argentina, her country of departure, after attempting unsuccessfully to claim political asylum
[3].
Allegations during Pinochet's last days
In 2006, General
Manuel Contreras, head of the Chilean
secret police DINA under Pinochet, alleged in testimony sent to Judge
Claudio Pavez that Pinochet and his son Marco Antonio Pinochet were involved in the clandestine production of
chemical and
biological weapons, and the producing (under
Eugenio Berríos's direction) sale and
trafficking of cocaine. These allegations were investigated and later dismissed by the Chilean courts
[10].
Death
On
December 10,
2006, Augusto Pinochet died of heart failure and pulmonary edema, surrounded by family members, at the Military Hospital in
Vitacura at 14:15 local time (17:15 UTC).
See also
References
1. The judgements of the House of Lords and the other British Courts which considered Pinochet's case can be found on the British and Irish Legal Information Institute website.
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/467114.stm
3. http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/chile/bush.htm
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/260124.stm
5. Chile high court allows Pinochet 'Caravan of Death' case to proceed, July 17, 2006
6. Chile court upholds Pinochet bail in one case, removes immunity in another, January 11, 2006
7. Court 'lifts Pinochet immunity', BBC, September 8, 2006.
8. Court 'lifts Pinochet immunity'
9. Procesan a Pinochet y ordenan su arresto por los secuestros y homicidios de la "Caravana de la Muerte", ''20minutos'', 28 November 2006.
10. Jonathan Franklin, Pinochet 'sold cocaine to Europe and US', ''The Guardian'', July 11, 2006
External links
★
TRIAL: Pinochet's trials
★
Timeline of Pinochet Prosecution (Amnesty International)
★
Pinochet Real – For Supporters of General Pinochet
★
"The crimes of Augusto Pinochet" (several case studies)
★
BBC coverage (special report)
★
Article: "Doubts Remain over Pinochet's Fate: Chile's 'antiquated penal code' could be his undoing"
★
Pinochet Timeline: Human Rights in Chile The Chile Information Project
★
Reconcile Chile
★
Valech report on political imprisonment and torture, November 2004
★
BBC News report: "Banks accused over Pinochet cash"
★
Amnesty International
★
George Washington University article
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