By Lara Pullin
The British home secretary Jack Straw has released former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, ostensibly on medical grounds. On March 2, the general left his country residence outside London and took a plane back to his native Chile.
Pinochet was arrested in London in October 1998 after Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon issued a warrant for his arrest and extradition for human rights violations during Pinochet's 17-year reign of Chile.
In February, Straw stated publicly that he was "inclined" to let the mass murderer go free, claiming that a medical report had found the 84 year old unfit to stand trial. The report offered both the British and Spanish governments a way out of what has been a diplomatic embarrassment.
The Spanish government had been reluctant to follow the proper diplomatic processes for serving international extradition warrants in the first place and only did so under international pressure.
The French government demanded Pinochet be extradited, following investigations by magistrate Le Loire into the disappearance on French citizens in Pinochet's Chile. Belgium and Switzerland also wanted Pinochet extradited to stand trial.
Straw had sought to keep the medical report confidential on the grounds of "patient confidentiality", but legal appeals by Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland resulted in the judge ordering the release of the report to these governments through diplomatic channels. Spanish newspapers, which received leaked copies of the report, said it showed that Pinochet had suffered brain damage that would prevent his participation in a trial.
Belgium, France and Spain called for more health tests and Switzerland said ill health was no bar to extradition.
Medical evidence collected by Garzon and a team of Spanish doctors disputes the report's findings and Garzon asserts that Pinochet is "competent to be put on trial, with capability to defend himself, understand and comprehend the charges against him".
The Spanish government, however, has made it clear that it does not support Garzon's bid to bring Pinochet to trial in Madrid. It will not continue to forward legal requests through diplomatic channels, and will not oppose Straw's decision to send Pinochet home. The governments of Belgium, France and Switzerland are also unlikely to appeal against Pinochet's release.
Straw and his Labour government have consistently sought to placate the general and his supporters and avoid any potential scandal that could arise if he was brought to trial. The US is also worried about the repercussions of a trial, as the full extent of the role played by the US government and the CIA in the 1973 coup could be exposed.