Hold Firm for Pinochet Trial

A British court ruling last week brings Augusto Pinochet, Chile’s former dictator, a step closer to potential extradition and trial on charges of torture and murder committed during his 1973-88 reign of terror in Santiago.

Intense international pressure will now fall on Home Secretary Jack Straw to grant medical clemency and let the ailing old tyrant go home. But Straw would serve justice most highly by letting this celebrated case follow its legal course.

Pinochet was arrested in London nearly a year ago, while recuperating from back surgery at a British clinic. The arrest came at the request of Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, who accused Pinochet of one count of conspiracy to torture and 34 specific incidents of torture against Chilean citizens.

Mary Robinson, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said this case sends “a signal of hope to those fighting for justice for victims of human rights violations.” More practically, the charges against Pinochet signal other abusive heads of state that they might someday be nailed if they travel to a country with a strong justice system. In fact, as the case against Pinochet evolves in Britain, the wheels of justice in Chile are beginning to move against the military officers who served him. More than 40 officers who thought they stood above civil law have been arrested on charges of human rights violations.

A decision by Chile’s Supreme Court last July granted judges authority to reopen cases of political prisoners who, in the term of those terrible times, were “disappeared” under Pinochet’s 15-year dictatorship. The cases are now being reviewed as “kidnappings in progress,” weakening a Pinochet-era amnesty law for military officers.

In Britain, the defense is expected to file an appeal if Straw rules against Pinochet, and the legal battle may drag on. The Chilean government, meanwhile, is expected to present a case for clemency for the 83-year-old general, citing his precarious health. The death or disappearance of more than 3,000 Chileans under Pinochet’s regime should weigh heaviest upon Straw’s conscience when the time to ponder his options comes.