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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 28, 2003

Chilean Court Rules out Stripping Pinochet of Immunity

The Chilean Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected, by a vote of 15 to 8, the removal of the immunity enjoyed by ex-General Augusto Pinochet, authorities said.


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The Chilean Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected, by a vote of 15 to 8, the removal of the immunity enjoyed by ex-General Augusto Pinochet, authorities said.

The authorities also declared that a new medical examination for the former general was denied although the plaintiff, who tried to have Pinochet face charges of killing several members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Chile in 1976, expressed doubts that he suffers from senile dementia as diagnosed.

On Wednesday morning, the tribunal listened to the arguments both for and against the removal of Pinochet's immunity. The plaintiff presented new evidence that would prove the ex-ruler of Chile does not have mental problems and he would be able to stand trial.

The plaintiff also said the retired general did not fulfill his duties, such as protection of Chileans and prevention of crimes, as president of Chile and commander in chief of the armed forces during the period of the junta's rule from 1973 to 1988.

The Communist Party of Chile asked Judge Juan Guzman again last week to remove the immunity enjoyed by Pinochet in order to clear up his role in the disappearance of the party's leaders in 1976, as part of the case dubbed "Conferencia."

The hearings on Wednesday marked the revival, after two years of dormancy, of a drawn-out legal battle to force the 87-year-old Pinochet to stand trial on charges of human rights abuses during his 17-year rule from 1973 to 1990.

About 3,000 people died in the violence resulting from the 1973coup that launched Pinochet to power, but due to his poor health and delaying tactics, no one expects him to ever appear in court.

Pinochet did once lose the immunity he had as a former president when Chile's highest court ordered him to stand trial in2000 for a different human rights case. The trial started but was cut short in 2001 when he was diagnosed as mentally incompetent.




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