The former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet this past Friday lost what could be the final round in his tortuous struggle to avoid prosecution for human rights abuses.
In a surprise ruling, the country’s Supreme Court ruled by 9 votes to 8 to uphold the decision of a lower court in May that stripped Pinochet, 88, of immunity from prosecution. There can be no appeal against the ruling.
The ruling was received with joy by the families of victims of the dictator, while the centre-left coalition government has taken a cautious stance.
“This is a historic day, because this ruling opens a window of opportunity for us to try all of the human rights violators,” said Lorena Pizarro, president of the Group of Families of the Detained-Disappeared.”
A website maintained by Michael Neumann provides stark accounts of Pinochet’s crimes. Human Rights Watch has published a timeline of the Pinochet prosecution dating back to October 16, 1998.
In their special report, The Guardian published their own early timeline of the march toward justice for Augusto Pinochet, as well as a Reuters report in which the seemingly delusional former dictator states …
“I never aspired to be a dictator because I considered that to be a dictator would end badly. I always acted in a democratic way.”
With Pinochet in the hands of the justice system, the path would now seem to be clear to establish his share of responsibility in Operation Condor, the strategy by which South American de facto military regimes co-ordinated the repression of political opponents in the 1970s and 1980s.
