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Britain poised to release Pinochet on health ground

LONDON: Britain intends to release former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet after medical tests showed he was unfit to stand trial, the Home Office announced late on Tuesday. Pinochet was set on Wednesday to walk free within days and escape a torture trial in Spain after Britain said the 84-year-old was unfit for extradition.

Tuesday's British announcement triggered elation among Pinochet's supporters and fury from those who had suffered under the general's iron-fisted rule between 1973 and 1990.

"The unequivocal and unanimous conclusion of the three medical practitioners and the consultant neuropsychologist is that he is at present unfit to stand trial, and that no change to that position can be expected," the Home Office (interior ministry) said in a statement on the January 5 examination.

Home Secretary Jack Straw said Pinochet's release was subject to representations by Spain, Chile and other interested parties within seven days. France, Belgium and Switzerland have outstanding extradition requests.

Spain and Chile quickly signalled they would not take issue with Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government.

"The Spanish government has maintained from the first moment an attitude of absolute respect for judicial decisions taken in relation to this case," Spain's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It is its intention also to respect the decisions of the British government."

Chile's Foreign Minister Juan Gabriel Valdes said: "The Chilean government recognises the seriousness with which the British government has proceeded in this delicate matter and waits for a final decision."

Opponents of Pinochet accused Britain of letting the general escape justice. His supporters said it would help the new democratic Chile.

Britain's "Iron Lady", former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was delighted. "Straw is a fair man," she said.

Retired Chilean general Rafael Villarroel told local radio: "It is positive for the country. It opens the door for Pinochet's return."

But Carlos Reyes, a former journalist imprisoned for two years under Pinochet's rule, said: "It's unbelievable that a criminal should escape justice because perhaps he is ill or in pain. The pain of my Chilean people is worse than what Pinochet is suffering."

The Home Office did not spell out the government's next moves but held out the prospect that Pinochet could be freed from 15 months of house arrest and sent home.

Pinochet's health deteriorated mainly during last September and October, according to the tests by independent doctors.

Pinochet's supporters say the general is frail and has suffered a series of strokes. His son told Sky television the general was in very poor health and suffering from memory loss.

"I think he is very bad," said Marco Antonio Pinochet. "The symptoms are like he don't walk much he was losing weight, he has memory problems, he sleeps bad, he has a little depression -- the depression was increasing."

He said the Pinochet family had been upset by his father's house arrest in Britain but added: "A lot of people have been nice with us -- even the people that keep him in captivity."

Pinochet was arrested by police during a visit to Britain in October 1998 at the request of a Spanish judge who wanted to try him for human rights abuses dating from the latter part of his rule.

Pinochet has insisted he is not guilty of the 35 charges of torture and conspiracy to torture and says the case violates Chile's sovereignty.

A British magistrate ruled last October that Pinochet could be extradited to Spain. His lawyers appealed and a High Court hearing was set for March 20.

Human rights groups on Wednesday demanded to see British medical evidence that deemed former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet unfit to face a torture trial in Spain.

Police stepped up security around the home near London where Pinochet has been under house arrest for the past 15 months while a debate raged about whether his health -- mainly heart problems -- was an excuse for him to evade justice.

Amnesty International, the human rights group which has been a key player in the lengthy legal manoeuvring over Pinochet's fate, said it was consulting lawyers over legal options now.

"I think we will want to see the medical evidence. If he is being released for medical reasons, we would like to see that evidence, so that we are as confident as the Home Secretary that he is unable to stand trial for medical reasons," Amnesty spokesman Brendan Paddy said.-AFP/Reuters