Pinochet
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP):
FORMER DICTATOR General Augusto Pinochet was stripped of his legal immunity yesterday to face charges of diverting public funds to personal bank accounts.
Judge Juan Escobar, president of the Santiago Court of Appeals, said his tribunal voted 21-3 to remove the immunity Pinochet enjoys as a former president.
Friday's decision is part of a wider corruption-related legal process in which Pinochet also lost immunity against charges of tax evasion and secret overseas bank accounts totalling as much as US$28 million (euro23.7 million). A person with legal immunity must be stripped of it separately in each case.
The ruling adds to Pinochet's already difficult legal situation. The 90-year-old was indicted and has been held under house arrest since November 24 for his alleged responsibility in the killing and disappearance of nine dissidents in the early years of his 1973-90 dictatorship.
In the new case, Judge Carlos Cerda said Pinochet diverted US$2 million (euro1.7 million) from the presidential office to his personal accounts abroad.
Pinochet's lawyer, Pablo Rodriguez, was expected to appeal Friday's ruling.
The day before, Rodriguez denied the charges of diverting of funds, saying that Pinochet was owed US$340,000 (¤288,200) for government expenses he had paid for with his personal money.
