General Pinochet could be returning home from the UK as soon as next week.

The warrants for the former dictator's arrest and extradition were quashed on Wednesday, but the courts ruled he should stay in the UK until an appeal has been heard.

The hearing at the House of Lords is expected to take place early next week. Legal experts doubt it will overturn the ruling, leaving the 82-year-old free to fly home.

General Pinochet's supporters think it is high time the frail old man was allowed to return to Chile.

However the Spanish judge who first issued the order for his arrest, has no intention of dropping his case against the former dictator.

Do you think Pinochet should be allowed to go home? Or should he be brought to justice?

Alberto Espina, of the National Renovation Party sees the UK judgement as a victory for Chile.

"There is no justification from a political, moral or legal point of view to keep the ex-president under arrest."

But Helen Bamber, founder of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, said: "The High Court has made England a safe haven for dictators and former dictators.

"Does this mean that men like Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic are safe to swan around the globe in the knowledge that legally they are untouchable?"

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