Judge Questions Pinochet About Human Rights Abuses
A Chilean judge Tuesday questioned Augusto Pinochet for the first time in his three-year probe into the former strongman’s alleged role in human rights abuses.
Judge Juan Guzman was in the retired general’s secluded home outside Santiago for two hours. But Guillermo Garin, a Pinochet ally, said the questioning lasted only a few minutes.
A court source who had access to the transcript of the interrogation said Pinochet responded to the first of Guzman’s 15 questions by saying, “I did not order anyone to be killed.”
According to a report by the civilian government that succeeded Pinochet in 1990, at least 3,200 people were killed for political reasons and an additional 1,197 disappeared during his 1973-90 dictatorship.
Guzman indicted Pinochet last month, but the charges were dropped by the Supreme Court because the judge failed to first interrogate Pinochet--a requirement he fulfilled Tuesday.
If Guzman believes that he has enough evidence and if he thinks that Pinochet is mentally and physically fit for trial, he could file charges. Lawyers for Pinochet, claiming his innocence, have said they would appeal any charges.
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