Pinochet decision postponed

Pinochet is 'Sovereign' according to one graffiti artist

The Supreme Court in Chile has rejected a request by lawyers representing the former military ruler, Augusto Pinochet, for new medical tests to be carried out to see if he is fit to stand trial.

The ruling, by 11 votes to nine, came as the judges deliberated whether to lift the general's immunity from prosecution so he can be tried for human rights abuses.

The court will take that decision, which is final, next week.

Mr Pinochet's defence team had argued that their client was unfit to stand trial.

The law in Chile does not recognise poor physical health as a reason for avoiding trial, but those found to be in inadequate mental health may be excused.

History of case

Oct 1998: Arrested in Britain

Oct 1998: Released over immunity

Nov 1998: Immunity rejected

Dec 1998: British government rejects release

Dec 1998: Immunity decision set aside over possible bias

March 1999: Immunity again rejected

Sept 1999: Extradition hearing begins

Oct 1999: Adjourned over health

March 2000: Government decides against extradition

March 2000: Return to Chile

Previous ruling

Last week the court heard three days of legal argument over whether General Pinochet's immunity from prosecution should be scrapped, clearing the way for a human rights trial.

A lower court has already found against General Pinochet, but he appealed against the ruling.

If the Supreme Court rules that Mr Pinochet's immunity does not prevent him from standing trail, he will face more than 140 cases which have been lodged by human rights campaigners.

Central to the case against General Pinochet are allegations of his involvement in the so-called 'Death Caravan', a military squad which roamed Chile in October 1973 searching for left-wing opponents of the general's regime.

General Pinochet returned to Chile in March

The squad is believed to have killed at least 72 people, mainly dissidents dragged from prisons and summarily executed.

General Pinochet's lawyers told the Supreme Court that he was innocent of human rights abuses, and said that, in any case, the courts had no power to try former heads of state.

General Pinochet returned to Chile in March, after a long legal battle in the UK. He was finally declared too ill to be extradited to Spain to face trial on human rights charges.