Court to Rule on Pinochet Immunity

Chile’s Supreme Court is expected to rule today on whether former dictator Augusto Pinochet, 84, will be stripped of his immunity from prosecution and tried for alleged rights abuses. A simple majority vote from the full Supreme Court will decide Pinochet’s fate. The ruling cannot be appealed. Human rights lawyers say Pinochet’s position as a senator for life--which gives him immunity from prosecution--should be taken away because of his alleged involvement in the slaughter of leftists after his forces took over in a 1973 coup. Pinochet could ultimately avoid being dragged through the courts because of poor health.