Pinochet Stripped of His Immunity, Sources Say

Sources on both sides of the case said Wednesday that they believed Chile’s Supreme Court had stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution, but the chief justice insisted that the court would not disclose its ruling until the justices have written their opinions.

The court is considering Pinochet’s appeal of a lower court ruling in May that removed his immunity in a case involving crimes by a military death squad in October 1973. If the justices rule against the 84-year-old Pinochet, who is a senator for life, the only obstacle to a trial would be medical tests required to determine if he is mentally competent to be tried.

The high court ruling will not be final until it has been signed by the 20 justices, who theoretically could change their decisions until then. Citing unnamed sources, however, Chilean media were reporting that the justices voted against Pinochet during a four-hour session Tuesday.

Sources on both sides of the case said Wednesday that they believed the court voted against Pinochet by a narrow margin.

Eduardo Contreras, a Communist Party lawyer who is a complainant in the case, said sources close to the court told him that those reports were accurate. “There may be differences about the number of votes, but there is no doubt that the decision is confirmed,” Contreras said in an interview.

Pinochet’s son told journalists that he was pessimistic about the outcome.

“I think everything is going to come out badly,” said Marco Antonio Pinochet. “I think this is a political ruling, and I have no doubt that the removal of the immunity will be upheld.”

A source close to the Pinochet Foundation, an organization that promotes the former ruler’s image, said the group’s sources in the legal system say the justices voted 11 to 9 against Pinochet.

Chief Justice Hernan Alvarez told reporters Wednesday that the justices are writing their opinions and that the ruling will not be made public until Friday or early next week.

“The decision will exist when it has been signed,” said Alvarez, rejecting criticism of the court’s insistence on secrecy amid speculation and leaks to news organizations.

A verdict against Pinochet would be a landmark decision after years in which he was considered untouchable. It would also confirm the declaration by Chile’s center-left government to international critics during a 16-month legal odyssey prompted by the former military ruler’s arrest in Britain in October 1998: that Chilean democracy is strong enough to prosecute Pinochet.

British authorities finally released Pinochet on grounds of ill health earlier this year. He returned home to face an onslaught of criminal complaints--currently about 150--being pursued by newly emboldened prosecutors and human rights activists.

The appeals court ruled in May that there is enough evidence to remove immunity and charge Pinochet in a case related to 19 of the victims of the “caravan of death,” an army squad suspected of executing 72 political prisoners in 1973. Because the remains of the 19 victims were not found, the crimes are considered unsolved kidnappings and therefore exempt from Pinochet-era amnesty laws.