http://www.elpais.es/p/d/temas/ultima/pino.htm
Los Lores niegan la inmunidad a Pinochet
Podr� ser extraditado por delitos cometidos con posterioriad a 1988
EL PAIS Digital, Madrid
El Comit� de Apelaciones de la C�mara de los Lores deneg� hoy, por 6 votos
a 1, la inmunidad al general chileno Augusto Pinochet, de 84 a�os, por los
cr�menes cometidos despu�s del 29 de septiembre de 1988, por lo que puede
ser sometido al proceso legal de extradici�n.
Sin embargo, no se le podr� juzgar por los cr�menes cometidos antes de
septiembre de 1988, porque hasta entonces el Reino Unido no hab�a firmado
la Convenci�n Internacional contra la Tortura.
Los delitos por los que podr�a ser extraditado son uno de tortura y siete
de conspiraci�n para la tortura de los recogidos en el auto de la justicia
espa�ola.
Sol� uno de los siete jueces-lores que integraron el Comit� de Apelaciones,
lord Nicholas Phillip, se pronunci� a favor de la negaci�n total de
inmunidad.
El presidente del Comit�, lord Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson, quiso matizar en
las explicaciones del fallo que los jueces-lores consideran que, "en vista
de la disminuci�n significativa de los cargos contra Pinochet, el ministro
brit�nico del Interior, Jack Straw, deber�a reconsiderar el caso".
Los abogados apelar�n la decisi�n de Straw
Los abogados del ex dictador chileno Augusto Pinochet anunciaron hoy que
iban a apelar inmediatamente la decisi�n de Straw, que abri� el camino en
diciembre al procedimiento de extradici�n a Espa�a del general.
El ministro brit�nico del Interior dio luz verde el 9 de diciembre de 1998
a la apertura del proceso legal de extradici�n de Pinochet porque
consideraba que los cargos de tortura, terrorismo y secuestro de que se le
acusa son extraditables desde el punto de vista brit�nico, aunque no acept�
el de genocidio, de que le acusa el juez espa�ol Baltasar Garz�n.
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/24/pinochet.02/Britain's
Highest court upholds Pinochet's arrest
Lengthy Spanish extradition battle expected
March 24, 1999 Web posted at: 9:41 a.m. EDT (0941 GMT)
LONDON (CNN) -- Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday that former Chilean
dictator Augusto Pinochet's arrest in Britain was lawful, opening the way
for a hearing on his extradition to Spain to face human rights charges.
But in a 6-1 vote, the seven-judge panel said Pinochet cannot be prosecuted
for any acts alleged before 1988, when Britain signed the International
Convention Against Torture.
The landmark ruling by the Law Lords came after lawyers for Spain appealed
a lower London High Court ruling last October. That court said Pinochet was
not immune from arrest in Britain as a former head of state.
Lawyers for the 83-year-old general are expected to mount fresh legal
challenges that could drag the case out for months, if not years.
Pinochet was undergoing medical treatment in Britain when he was arrested
last October on a warrant from Spain, alleging crimes against humanity
committed during his rule from 1973 to 1990.
Prosecutors allege that more than 3,000 people, including dozens of
Spaniards, were killed, tortured or disappeared after Pinochet ousted
President Salvador Allende in a military coup.
After Britain's High Court threw out Pinochet's arrest, prosecutors
appealed to the House of Lords, arguing that universally condemned crimes
such as torture and abduction fell outside any immunity protections.
In November, the Lords agreed by a vote of 3-2, but their ruling was
annulled after the revelation that one of the judges had ties to the human
rights organization Amnesty International.
In London, anti-Pinochet campaigners staged an all-night vigil outside the
Houses of Parliament, where the Law Lords announced their ruling after
deliberating for nearly seven weeks.
No end in sight
Pinochet's lawyers are widely expected to now go to London's High Court to
challenge the permission given by Home Secretary (Interior Minister) Jack
Straw in December for the extradition proceedings to begin. If they lose
before the High Court, they could appeal to the Law Lords again.
If Pinochet's lawyers lose that challenge, then the action moves back to
the London magistrate's court where extradition cases are heard.
Pinochet's next bail hearing before the magistrate's court is set for April
6. That hearing would have to be held in any case to review his bail
conditions, which have required him to stay under police guard in a house
outside London.
But if there are no other legal appeals pending on April 6, on that day the
judge could set a date for extradition proceedings to begin.
It has been estimated that Pinochet's extradition proceedings would take
about five days, although the track record in his case so far is that all
proceedings take at least twice as long as estimated due to the legal
wrangling.
If the judge gives the go-ahead for extradition, the case goes back to
Straw for a final decision.
But even that decision can be appealed through the courts, which could
ultimately take the case back to the Law Lords. Pinochet has told
supporters he is resigned to dying in Britain as appeals drag on.
Precedent-setting ruling
The Law Lords' ruling is expected to set a precedent for international law.
In their appeal, Spanish prosecutors relied heavily on the International
Convention Against Torture, which Britain endorsed in 1988. Spain and Chile
also signed it.
Pinochet's lawyers argued that the convention cannot be applied to acts
that occurred before it was adopted. Most of the charges in the Spanish
warrant relate to crimes alleged to have happened before 1988.
The Chilean government also asked the judges to throw out Pinochet's
arrest, calling it an affront to Chile's national sovereignty. They said
Chile was the only proper place to bring Pinochet to trial.
Pinochet is protected in Chile, however, by a far-reaching amnesty law his
government passed before leaving power.
Chileans deeply divided
The case has brought the deep political divide in Chile over Pinochet back
into the spotlight.
Demonstrations were held in the capital of Santiago on Tuesday by both foes
and supporters of Pinochet.
Members of an association of victims of repression under Pinochet lit
scores of candles along a main avenue in the capital, many carrying
photographs of their loved ones.
And at the city's upscale Las Condes district, about 300 supporters of
Pinochet, most waving Chilean flags and posters with Pinochet pictures,
demonstrated at an avenue near the neighboring British and Spanish
embassies.
