-Caveat Lector- >From Int'l Herald Tribune Paris, Thursday, December 10, 1998 Britain Lets Case Against Pinochet Proceed in Courts Extradition Request by Spain Could Take Months to Consider ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Warren Hoge New York Times Service ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LONDON - Home Secretary Jack Straw of Britain ruled Wednesday that the extradition case against General Augusto Pinochet could go forward in English courts. The 83-year-old former Chilean dictator now faces an indefinite stay in England and is to appear Friday at a hearing on the Spanish petition to stand trial in Madrid on charges of crimes against humanity. While any extradition remains a long time and many legal twists and turns away, the decision Wednesday was a significant step that brought exuberant cheers from the general's enemies and angry denunciations from his backers. The Chilean government immediately recalled its ambassador to London, Mario Artaza, explaining, ''It is to give more information and is also a gesture.'' Mr. Straw, the law enforcement minister in the British government, issued the decision in a brief statement saying, ''I signed an authority to proceed in respect of Senator Pinochet today. The Spanish request for his extradition will now be considered by the courts.'' The decision, two days before Friday's deadline, dashed the hopes of General Pinochet's supporters and the Chilean government that Mr. Straw would let him return to Chile. Fearing that outcome, opponents of the general's had been in court earlier Wednesday afternoon seeking a delay in any possible departure so that they would be able to file an appeal keeping the case open. They lost that effort in London's High Court, but minutes later Mr. Straw's announcement made the matter moot. Mr. Straw had been weighing General Pinochet's fate since the Law Lords of the House of Lords, England's highest court, ruled on Nov. 25 that he did not enjoy immunity from arrest and could be held in England while the extradition request was considered. It was Mr. Straw's task to judge the validity of the Spanish claim. Human rights groups hailed it as a victory against tyrants and noted that it came a day before the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ''This is a wonderful birthday present,'' said Reed Brody, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. ''The wall of impunity which Pinochet built in Chile by force of arms is being torn down by international law and the political will of the world community.'' British law allows numerous appeals at every stage of the extradition process, and each appeal could require a new decision by the Law Lords. After all appellate procedures are exhausted, Mr. Straw will again have the final say before Mr. Pinochet can be extradited. Legal experts have estimated that the process could take more than a year. In a five-page written reply to a parliamentary question detailing his reasoning, Mr. Straw said he could not sustain the charges of genocide and murder in the petition because they did not fit the legal definitions of extraditable crimes under Britain's Extradition Act of 1989. He said, however, that he was able to match the accusations from the Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon with equivalent British criminal charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, torture, conspiracy to torture, hostage-taking and conspiracy to take hostages. Addressing the other considerations that he said he was legally bound to base his decision on, Mr. Straw said he did not find that General Pinochet was entitled to sovereign immunity, that the charges against him were not ''of a political character,'' that the length of time since the alleged offenses did not make trying them now ''unjust'' and that General Pinochet's health did not call into question his fitness to stand trial. He said he had considered claims by the Chilean government that General Pinochet might stand trial in Chile but noted he did not ''consider the possibility of a trial in Chile to be a factor which outweighs the U.K.'s obligations under the European Convention on Extradition to extradite Senator Pinochet to Spain.'' In Chile, General Pinochet is Senator for Life, a title that among other things gives him immunity from prosecution there. Spokesmen for Kingsley Napley, the law firm representing General Pinochet, declined to comment on whether it was considering an emergency application for High Court review of Mr. Straw's decision, which might put off the Friday hearing. General Pinochet has made a number of visits here in recent years without incident. He arrived this time on Sept. 21 and was treated as a V.I.P. on his arrival by the Foreign Office and took tea with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her Belgravia home. He had suffered back pains during the flight to Britain from Santiago, and a doctor recommended immediate surgery. The operation took place on Oct. 9 and he was recuperating in the London Clinic on Harley Street when he was arrested on Oct. 16. The action was brought by Judge Garzon as part of his investigation of human rights atrocities committed during the ''dirty wars'' of the 1970s and 1980s in Latin America. In his charge, Judge Garzon held General Pinochet responsible for the deaths or disappearances of more than 3,000 people after he seized power in a 1973 coup. On Oct. 28, London's High Court ruled unanimously that General Pinochet enjoyed immunity from arrest as a former head of state. The court ordered him to stay in England until the outcome of an appeal brought by the Crown Prosecution Service. It was a matter of some surprise when the House of Lords overturned that decision Nov. 25, leading to Wednesday's new setback for the general. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
