Pinochet questioning delayed until Monday

A judge in Chile has pulled back from a confrontation with the country's former military ruler, General Augusto Pinochet, by delaying until next Monday his formal interrogation.

The judge, Juan Guzman, was to have carried out the questioning later today Tuesday but General Pinochet's lawyers had already said he would not attend.

Chilean media also reported that Judge Guzman had decided to give the General another chance to show up for medical tests to determine whether he is fit to stand trial on charges of human rights abuses.

The BBC correspondent in Santiago says the rescheduling is no guarantee that either the tests or the questioning will go ahead, but that it will calm the atmosphere surrounding the case. Meanwhile, human rights activists have criticised the Chilean armed forces for failing to provide more information on the fate of hundreds of people missing since Chile was under military rule.

A report issued on Sunday gave details of a hundred and eighty of the missing -- but activists say that's not enough.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service