View source for Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet

{{Short description|Arrest of the dictator for crimes against humanity (1990s–2000s)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name   = Augusto Pinochet
| image_name     = Pinochet de Civil.jpg
| image_caption  =
| charge         = {{plainlist|
*[[Caravan of Death]]
*Assassination of [[Carlos Prats]]
*[[Operation Condor]]
*[[Operation Colombo]]
*[[Villa Grimaldi]]
*[[Carmelo Soria]]
*Calle Conferencia
*[[Antonio Llidó]]
*[[Eugenio Berrios]]
*[[Tax evasion]]
*[[Passport]] [[forgery]]}}
| conviction_status = Deceased
}}
{{Operation Condor|reactions}}

General [[Augusto Pinochet]] was [[indicted]] for [[legacy of Augusto Pinochet|human rights violations]] committed in his native [[Chile]] by Spanish magistrate [[Baltasar Garzón]] in 1998. He was arrested in [[London]] six days later and held under house arrest for a year and a half before being released by the British government in 2000. Authorised to return to Chile, Pinochet was subsequently indicted by judge [[Juan Guzmán Tapia]] and charged with several crimes. He died in 2006 without having been convicted. His arrest in London made the front pages of newspapers worldwide; not only did it involve the head of the military dictatorship that ruled [[Military government of Chile (1973–1990)|Chile between 1973 and 1990]], it marked the first time judges had applied the principle of [[universal jurisdiction]], declaring themselves competent to judge crimes committed in a country by former heads of state, despite the existence of local amnesty laws.

Pinochet led a violent [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] with active CIA involvement, instigated by President Nixon, which deposed [[Socialist Party of Chile|Socialist]] [[President of Chile|President]] [[Salvador Allende]]. His 17-year regime was notorious for many [[Human rights abuses in Chile under Augusto Pinochet|human rights violations]], some of which were committed as part of [[Operation Condor]], an illegal effort to suppress left-wing political opponents in Chile and abroad in coordination with foreign intelligence agencies. Pinochet was also accused of using his position to pursue personal enrichment through [[embezzlement]] of government funds, the [[illegal drug trade]] and illegal arms trade. The [[Rettig Report]] found that at least 2,279 people were conclusively [[murder]]ed by the Chilean government for political reasons during Pinochet's regime, and the [[Valech Report]] found that at least 30,000 people were [[torture]]d by the government for political reasons.

Pinochet's attorneys, headed by [[Pablo Rodríguez Grez]] (former leader of the far-right group [[Fatherland and Liberty]]), argued that he was entitled to [[immunity from prosecution]] first as a former [[head of state]], then under the 1978 [[amnesty]] law passed by the military junta. They also claimed that his alleged poor health made him unfit to stand trial. A succession of judgments by various [[Court of Appeal|Courts of Appeal]], the [[Supreme Court of Chile|Supreme Court]], medical experts, etc., led to Pinochet's subsequent house arrest and release, before he died on 10 December 2006, just after having been again put under house arrest on 28 November 2006 in the [[Caravan of Death]] case.<ref name=Nov06>[http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/177449/0/pinochet/procesado/homicidios/ Procesan a Pinochet y ordenan su arresto por los secuestros y homicidios de la "Caravana de la Muerte"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905163627/https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/177449/0/pinochet/procesado/homicidios/ |date=5 September 2019 }}, ''[[20minutos]]'', 28 November 2006.</ref>

At the time of his death in 2006, Pinochet had been implicated in over 300 criminal charges for many human rights violations,<ref name=Periodico>[http://www.elperiodico.com/comunes/pinochet/cas/5causa2.asp Más de 300 querellas abiertas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701130417/http://www.elperiodico.com/comunes/pinochet/cas/5causa2.asp |date=1 July 2007 }}, ''[[El Periódico de Catalunya|El Periódico]]'', URL accessed on 10 September 2007 {{in lang|es}}</ref> including the Caravan of Death case (case closed in July 2002 by the [[Supreme Court of Chile]], but re-opened in 2007 following new medical advice), [[Carlos Prats]]'s [[assassination]] (case closed on 1 April 2005), Operation Condor (case closed on 17 June 2005), [[Operation Colombo]], the [[Villa Grimaldi]], [[Carmelo Soria]], Calle Conferencia, [[Antonio Llidó]] and [[Eugenio Berrios]] cases, [[tax evasion]] and passport forgery.<ref name=Periodico/><ref name=taxevasion20>[http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/165812/0/pinochet/oro/oculto/ Descubren 9.000 kilos de oro ocultados por Pinochet en un banco de Hong Kong] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929132141/http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/165812/0/pinochet/oro/oculto/ |date=29 September 2007 }}, [[EFE]], published by ''[[20 Minutos]]'', 25 October 2006 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

==Timeline==

===Arrest in London===
{{See also|R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte Pinochet}}
In 1998, Pinochet, who at the time continued to wield considerable influence in Chile, travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment; allegations have been made that he was also there to negotiate arms contracts.<ref>[http://www.nodo50.org/entrerejas/70.htm ¿En qué negocios andaba Pinochet en Londres?. El secreto mundo de los armamentos."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717071326/http://www.nodo50.org/entrerejas/70.htm |date=17 July 2007 }}, ''[[Punto Final]]'', 18 December 1998 {{in lang|es}}</ref> While in London, he was arrested on 16 October 1998<ref>{{Cite web|date=1998-10-18|title=Pinochet arrested in London|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/1998/oct/18/pinochet.chile|access-date=2021-10-17|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> under an international arrest warrant issued by judge [[Baltasar Garzón]] of Spain,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/195413.stm |title=Europe &#124; Pinochet arrested in London |publisher=BBC News |date=17 October 1998 |access-date=9 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907183720/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/195413.stm |archive-date=7 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> before he was placed under [[house arrest]]: initially in [[the London Clinic]] where he had just undergone back surgery, later in a rented house. The charges included 194 counts of killings of Spanish citizens, the 1975 assassination of Spanish diplomat [[Carmelo Soria]], in addition to one count of conspiracy to commit torture – allegations of abuses had been made numerous times before his arrest, including since the beginning of his rule, but had never been acted upon. Grappling with the conditions set by Chile's turbulent [[Chilean transition to democracy|transition to democracy]], the coalition government known as ''[[Coalition of Parties for Democracy|Concertación]]'' and headed by President [[Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle]] opposed his arrest, [[extradition]] to Spain, as well as trial.

A hard-fought 16-month-long legal battle ensued in the [[Judicial functions of the House of Lords|House of Lords]], then the highest court of the United Kingdom.<ref>The judgements of the House of Lords and the other British Courts which considered Pinochet's case can be found on the [http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/sino_search_1.cgi?datehigh=&query=title+%28+pinochet+%29&mask_path=%2Feu%2Fcases+%2Few%2Fcases+%2Fie%2Fcases+%2Fnie%2Fcases+%2Fscot%2Fcases+%2Fuk%2Fcases&method=boolean&highlight=1&results=200&datelow=&sort=fdate British and Irish Legal Information Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928122300/http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/sino_search_1.cgi?datehigh=&query=title+%28+pinochet+%29&mask_path=%2Feu%2Fcases+%2Few%2Fcases+%2Fie%2Fcases+%2Fnie%2Fcases+%2Fscot%2Fcases+%2Fuk%2Fcases&method=boolean&highlight=1&results=200&datelow=&sort=fdate |date=28 September 2018 }} website.</ref> Pinochet claimed immunity from prosecution as a former head of state under the [[State Immunity Act 1978]]. This was rejected by a majority of the [[Law Lords]] (3–2), who ruled that some international crimes, such as torture, did not grant a former head-of-state [[Immunity from prosecution (international law)|immunity]].<ref name=Pinochetprecedent>Naomi Roht-Arriaza (Professor of Law, [[University of California]], [[Hastings College of Law]]), [http://www.nesl.edu/lawrev/vol35/2/roht.PDF The Pinochet Precedent and Universal Jurisdiction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201165214/http://www.nesl.edu/lawrev/vol35/2/roht.PDF |date=1 December 2007 }} in ''[[New England Law Review]]'' Vol. 35:2 (9 pages)</ref> However, the judgement was set aside in [[R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte Pinochet (No 2)|a subsequent, unprecedented case]] on the basis that one of the judges involved was potentially biased due to his ties to [[Amnesty International]], a human rights organization that had campaigned against Pinochet for decades and acted as an intervenor in the case. [[R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte Pinochet (No 3)|A third ruling]] in March 1999 confirmed the original verdict; this time, the Lords held that Pinochet could only be prosecuted for crimes committed after 1988, the year in which the United Kingdom implemented [[United Kingdom legislation|legislation]] ratifying the [[United Nations Convention Against Torture]] in the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]].<ref name=Pinochetprecedent/><ref name=Lords99>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/302487.stm "Straw considers Pinochet case"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112052331/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/302487.stm |date=12 November 2012 }}, BBC, 25 March 1999 {{in lang|en}}</ref> This invalidated most, but not all, of the charges against Pinochet and gave the green light for his extradition to Spain to proceed.

In April 1999, former UK Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] and former US President [[George H. W. Bush]] called upon the British government to release Pinochet.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/467114.stm "Thatcher pleads Pinochet's case"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040607235257/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/467114.stm |date=7 June 2004 }}, BBC, 6 October 1999 {{in lang|en}}</ref><ref>[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/chile/bush.htm Former U.S. President Bush urges Pinochet release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051229232020/http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/chile/bush.htm |date=29 December 2005 }}, ''[[CNN]]'', 12 April 1999 {{in lang|en}}</ref> They argued that Pinochet should be allowed to return to his homeland rather than be extradited to Spain. On the other hand, [[United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights]], [[Mary Robinson]], hailed the Lords' ruling, declaring that it was a clear endorsement that torture is an international crime subject to universal jurisdiction.<ref name=Lords99/> Furthermore, [[Amnesty International]] and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture demanded his extradition to Spain.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/260124.stm "Pinochet must go to Spain, says Amnesty"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107224407/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/260124.stm |date=7 November 2012 }}, BBC, 21 January 1999 {{in lang|en}}</ref> In protest against Spain's action, Chile withdrew its ambassador from [[Madrid]] for a time.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/798114.stm Talks set to ease Pinochet rift] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227185554/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/798114.stm |date=27 February 2008 }}, BBC, 20 June 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Thatcher sent Pinochet a bottle of [[single malt whisky]] during this time, with a note saying "Scotch is one British institution that will never let you down".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Youkee |first1=Mat |title=Thatcher sent Pinochet finest scotch during former dictator's UK house arrest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/margaret-thatcher-pinochet-chile-scotch-malt-whisky |work=The Guardian |date=4 October 2019 |access-date=6 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006173104/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/margaret-thatcher-pinochet-chile-scotch-malt-whisky |archive-date=6 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Meanwhile, questions began to emerge in the media about Pinochet's allegedly fragile health. After medical tests were conducted, Home Secretary [[Jack Straw]] ruled in January 2000 that the former dictator should not be extradited to Spain. This triggered protests from human rights NGOs; it led the Belgian government, along with six human rights groups (including [[Amnesty International]]), to file a complaint against Straw's decision before the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) in January 2000.<ref name=Belgium>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/618166.stm Belgium begins Pinochet challenge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112052346/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/618166.stm |date=12 November 2012 }}, BBC, 25 January 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Belgium, as well as France and Switzerland, had deposed extradition requests in the wake of Spain's demand.<ref name=Belgium/> Despite protests by legal and medical experts from several countries, Straw finally ruled, in March 2000, that Pinochet had to be set free and authorized his return to Chile.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/663170.stm Pinochet set free] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016002953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/663170.stm |date=16 October 2009 }}, BBC, 2 March 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref> On 3 March 2000, Pinochet returned to Chile. His first act upon landing in [[Santiago de Chile]]'s airport was to triumphantly stand up from his wheelchair to the acclaim of his supporters.<ref>Alex Bellos and Jonathan Franklin, [https://www.theguardian.com/pinochet/Story/0,,190560,00.html Pinochet receives a hero's welcome on his return], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 4 March 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref><ref name=Return/> The first person to greet him was his successor as head of the [[Chilean Armed Forces]], General [[Ricardo Izurieta]].<ref name=Return>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/664514.stm Pinochet arrives in Chile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226222206/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/664514.stm |date=26 February 2008 }}, BBC, 3 March 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref> President [[Ricardo Lagos]], who had just been sworn into office on 11 March, said the retired general's televised arrival had damaged Chile's international reputation, while thousands held demonstrations against the ex-dictator.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/665342.stm Thousands march against Pinochet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040526083212/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/665342.stm |date=26 May 2004 }}, BBC, 4 March 2000</ref>

Despite his release on grounds of ill health, the unprecedented detention of Pinochet in a foreign country for [[crimes against humanity]] committed in his own country, without a warrant or request for extradition from his own country, marked a watershed in [[international law]]. Some scholars<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bianchi|first1=Andrea|title=Immunity versus human rights: the Pinochet case|journal=European Journal of International Law|date=1999|volume=10|issue=2|pages=237–277|doi=10.1093/ejil/10.2.237|url=http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/10/2/581.pdf|access-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091014/http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/10/2/581.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wuerth|first1=Ingrid|title=Pinochet's Legacy Reassessed|journal=The American Journal of International Law|date=4 October 2012|volume=106|issue=4|pages=731–768|doi=10.5305/amerjintelaw.106.4.0731|jstor=10.5305/amerjintelaw.106.4.0731|s2cid=146429081}}</ref> consider it one of the most important events in legal history since the [[Nuremberg Trials]] of Nazi war criminals. Judge Garzón's case was largely founded on the principle of [[universal jurisdiction]] – that certain crimes are so egregious that they constitute crimes against humanity and can therefore be prosecuted in any court in the world. The British House of Lords ruled that Pinochet had no right to immunity from prosecution as a former head of state, and could be put on trial.<ref>[http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/universal/2004/0524ripple.htm The Ripple Effect of the Pinochet Case] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823235229/http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/universal/2004/0524ripple.htm |date=23 August 2006 }}, Global policy.org, 2004 {{in lang|en}}</ref> In Spain, the [[Court of Appeal]] of the ''[[Audiencia Nacional]]'' affirmed Spanish jurisdiction over [[Argentina|Argentine]] and Chilean cases, declaring that domestic amnesty laws (in the case of Chile, the 1978 amnesty law passed by Pinochet's regime) could not bind the Spanish courts.<ref name=Pinochetprecedent/> Both for matters concerning the "[[Dirty War]]" in Argentina and for Chile, they characterized the crimes as [[genocide]]s.<ref name=Pinochetprecedent/> However, both the Spanish and British rulings relied not on international law, but on domestic legislation: "They talked about universal jurisdiction, but grounded their decision in domestic statutory law."<ref name=Pinochetprecedent/>

The arrest of Pinochet has been characterized as a watershed moment in the international justice regime. According to Daniel Krcmaric, the arrest "marked the first time in the modern international system that a current or former head of state was arrested in a foreign country for international crimes."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Krcmaric|first=Daniel|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvrs90j0|title=The Justice Dilemma: Leaders and Exile in an Era of Accountability|date=2020|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-5021-2|location=|pages=41|jstor=10.7591/j.ctvrs90j0}}</ref>

===Return to Chile===
In March 2000, after Pinochet's return, the Chilean Congress approved a [[Chilean Constitution of 1980|constitutional amendment]] creating the status of "ex-president", which granted Pinochet immunity from prosecution and guaranteed him a financial allowance. In exchange, it required him to resign his seat of [[Senator for life|senator-for-life]]. 111 legislators voted for; 29 against.<ref name=Amendment>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/690817.stm Chile offers Pinochet new immunity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226222201/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/690817.stm |date=26 February 2008 }}, BBC, 25 March 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Despite this political move, on 23 May 2000,<!-- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/778353.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/784666.stm says June... --> the [[Court of Appeal]] of [[Santiago of Chile|Santiago]] lifted Pinochet's parliamentary immunity concerning the [[Caravan of Death]] case. This was confirmed by the [[Supreme Court of Chile]], which voted on 8 August 2000, by 14 votes against 6, to strip Pinochet of his parliamentary immunity. On 1 December 2000, judge [[Juan Guzmán Tapia]] indicted Pinochet for the kidnapping of 75 opponents in the Caravan of Death case – Guzmán advanced the charge of kidnapping on the grounds that the victims were officially "[[forced disappearance|disappeared]]": even though they were most likely dead, the absence of their corpses made any charge of homicide difficult.<ref name=December00>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1050374.stm Pinochet charged with kidnapping] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226222211/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1050374.stm |date=26 February 2008 }}, BBC, 1 December 2000 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Shortly after, on 11 December 2000, the ruling was suspended by the Court of Appeal of Santiago on medical grounds. In addition to the Caravan of Death, 177 other complaints were filed against Pinochet.<ref name=December00/>

In January 2001, medical experts stated that Pinochet was suffering from "mild dementia", which did not impede him from being prosecuted before the courts.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1120357.stm Pinochet 'fit enough' for trial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227185550/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1120357.stm |date=27 February 2008 }}, BBC, 16 January 2001 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Subsequently, judge Guzmán ordered his arrest in late January 2001.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1142887.stm "Pinochet arrest ordered"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227185545/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1142887.stm |date=27 February 2008 }}, BBC, 30 January 2001 {{in lang|en}}</ref> However, the judiciary procedures were again suspended on 9 July 2001 because of alleged health reasons. In July 2002, the Supreme Court dismissed Pinochet's indictment in the various cases on medical grounds (an alleged "vascular [[dementia]]"). That same year, the [[Prosecutor|prosecuting attorney]] Hugo Guttierez, who headed the Caravan of Death case, declared that "Our country has the degree of justice that the [[Chile's transition to democracy|political transition]] permits us to have."<ref name=Guttierez>[http://www.memoriayjusticia.cl/english/en_issues-gutierrez.html "The Appeals Court Ruling Is Negotiated Out for Pinochet"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020624050828/http://www.memoriayjusticia.cl/english/en_issues-gutierrez.html |date=24 June 2002 }}, Interview with Attorney Hugo Gutierrez, by ''Memoria y Justicia'', 21 February 2002 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Shortly after the verdict, Pinochet resigned from the Senate, thus benefiting from the 2000 constitutional amendment granting him immunity from prosecution. Thereafter, he lived a quiet life, rarely made public appearances and was notably absent from events marking the 30th anniversary of the coup on 11 September 2003.

===House arrest===
On 28 May 2004, a Court of Appeals voted 14 to 9 to revoke Pinochet's dementia status and, consequently, his immunity from prosecution. In arguing its case, the prosecution presented a recent television interview Pinochet had given for a [[Miami]]-based television network. The judges found that the interview raised doubts about the alleged mental incapacity of Pinochet. On 26 August, in a 9 to 8 vote, the Supreme Court upheld the decision. On 2 December, a Santiago Appeals Court stripped Pinochet of immunity from prosecution over the 1974 assassination of General [[Carlos Prats]], his predecessor as Army Commander-in-Chief, who was killed by a car bomb while in exile in Argentina. On 13 December, Judge [[Juan Guzmán Tapia]] placed Pinochet under house arrest and indicted him over the disappearance of nine opposition activists and the murder of one of them during his regime. However, the Supreme Court reversed the Appeals Court ruling in the Carlos Prats case on 24 March 2005, thereby upholding Pinochet's immunity. Later that year, on 14 September, the Supreme Court decided to strip Pinochet of his immunity in the [[Operation Colombo]] case involving the killing of 119 dissidents.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4246780.stm Court strips Pinochet of immunity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313221953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4246780.stm |date=13 March 2006 }}, BBC, 14 September 2005 {{in lang|en}}</ref> The following day, he was then acquitted of the human rights case due to his purported ill health. In late November, he was once again deemed fit to stand trial by the Chilean Supreme Court and indicted, this time for the disappearance of six dissidents who had been detained by Chile's security forces in late 1974. He was placed under house arrest on the eve of his 90th birthday.

In July 2006, the Supreme Court upheld a January judgment by the Court of Appeal of Santiago, which argued that the 2002 Supreme Court's ruling stating that Pinochet could not be prosecuted in the Caravan of Death case did not apply to two of its victims, who were former bodyguards of Salvador Allende.<ref>[http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/07/chile-high-court-allows-pinochet.php Chile high court allows Pinochet 'Caravan of Death' case to proceed] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508215435/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/07/chile-high-court-allows-pinochet.php |date=8 May 2009 }}, 17 July 2006 {{in lang|en}}</ref><ref>[http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/01/chile-court-upholds-pinochet-bail-in.php Chile court upholds Pinochet bail in one case, removes immunity in another] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307013833/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/01/chile-court-upholds-pinochet-bail-in.php |date=7 March 2008 }}, 11 January 2006 {{in lang|en}}</ref> On 9 September, Pinochet was stripped of his immunity by the  [[Supreme Court of Chile|Supreme Court]].<ref name=CourtBBC>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/5329264.stm Court 'lifts Pinochet immunity'], BBC, 8 September 2006.</ref> Judge Alejandro Madrid was thus able to indict him for the kidnappings and [[torture]]s at [[Villa Grimaldi]].<ref name=CourtBBC/> Furthermore, Pinochet was indicted in October 2006 for the assassination of DINA biochemist [[Eugenio Berríos]] in 1995.<ref name=LCI>[http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/ameriques/0,,3341806,00-levee-immunite-pinochet-pour-meurtre-chimiste-.html Levée de l'immunité de Pinochet pour le meurtre d'un chimiste] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929105606/http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/ameriques/0%2C%2C3341806%2C00-levee-immunite-pinochet-pour-meurtre-chimiste-.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, news agency cable, 12 October 2006 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> On 30 October, Pinochet was charged with 36 counts of kidnapping, 23 counts of torture, and one of murder for the torture and disappearance of opponents of his regime at Villa Grimaldi. On 28 November 2006, judge Víctor Montiglio, charged with overseeing the Caravan of Death case, ordered Pinochet's [[house arrest]].<ref name="Nov06"/> However, Pinochet died a few days later on 10 December, without having been convicted of any crimes committed during his administration.

==Tax fraud and foreign bank accounts==
The [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] [[Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]] released a report on 15 July 2004 concerning [[Riggs Bank]], which had solicited Pinochet and controlled between US$4 million and US$8 million of his assets. According to the report, Riggs participated in [[money laundering]] for Pinochet, setting up offshore [[Shell company|shell corporations]] (referring to Pinochet as only "a former public official"), and hiding his accounts from regulatory agencies. The report said the violations were "symptomatic of uneven and, at times, ineffective enforcement by all federal bank regulators, of bank compliance with their anti-money-laundering obligations". In 2006, Pinochet's total wealth was estimated to be at least $28 million.<ref name=NYT>Larry Rohter, [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/world/americas/19chile.html?ex=1308369600en=964a159db7c0d614ei=5088partner=rssnytemc=rss Colonel's Death Gives Clues to Pinochet Arms Deals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808081901/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/world/americas/19chile.html?ex=1308369600en=964a159db7c0d614ei=5088partner=rssnytemc=rss |date=8 August 2018 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 19 June 2006 {{in lang|en}}</ref>

Five days later, a Chilean court formally opened an investigation into Pinochet's finances for the first time, on allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds and bribery. A few hours later, the state prosecutor, Chile's [[Chile State Defense Council|State Defense Council]] (''Consejo de Defensa del Estado)'', presented a second request for the same judge to investigate Pinochet's assets, but without directly accusing him of crimes. On 1 October 2004, Chile's Internal Revenue Service ("Servicio de Impuestos Internos") filed a lawsuit against Pinochet, accusing him of fraud and tax evasion, for the amount of US$3.6 million in investment accounts held at Riggs between 1996 and 2002. Furthermore, a lawsuit against the Riggs Bank and [[Joe L. Allbritton]], chief executive of the bank until 2001, was closed after the bank agreed in February 2005 to pay $9 million to Pinochet's victims in compensation for its money-laundering activities on behalf of Pinochet.<ref>Terence O'Hara, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53805-2005Feb25.html Allbrittons, Riggs to Pay Victims Of Pinochet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103055544/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53805-2005Feb25.html |date=3 November 2012 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 25 February 2005 {{in lang|en}}</ref>

Pinochet could have faced fines in Chile totaling 300% of the amount owed, and prison time, if he had been convicted before his death. Aside from the legal ramifications, this evidence of financial impropriety severely embarrassed Pinochet. According to the State Defense Council, his hidden assets could never have been acquired solely on the basis of his salary as president, Chief of the Armed Forces, and Life Senator.

=== BAE Systems ===

In September 2005, a joint-investigation by ''[[The Guardian]]'' and ''[[La Tercera]]'' revealed that the British arms firm [[BAE Systems]] had been identified as having paid more than £1m to Pinochet through a front company in the [[British Virgin Islands]], which BAE has used to channel commissions on arms deals.<ref name=BAE>[[David Leigh (journalist)|David Leigh]] and Rob Evans, [https://www.theguardian.com/chile/story/0,13755,1570335,00.html Revealed: BAE's secret £1m to Pinochet], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 15 September 2005 {{in lang|en}}</ref> The payments began in 1997 and lasted until 2004.<ref name=BAE/><ref name=Detectivestory>[[David Leigh (journalist)|David Leigh]], Jonathan Franklin and Rob Evans, [https://www.theguardian.com/chile/story/0,13755,1570165,00.html Detective story that linked £1m Pinochet cash to BAE], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 15 September 2005 {{in lang|en}}</ref> BAE had tried to conclude a deal in the 1990s to sell Chile a [[rocket]] system and as of 2005 was trying to sell it naval electronics.<ref name=BAE/> The [[Chilean Army]] reportedly spent $60 million on the Rayo rocket system on a [[joint-venture]] with BAE Systems starting in 1994, before abandoning the project in 2003.<ref name=Detectivestory/> Since 2001, [[United Kingdom law|British legislation]] outlaws corruption of foreign public officials (part 12 of the [[Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001]]).<ref name=Detectivestory/>

=== Charges against Pinochet and family members ===
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2017}}<!--3 paragraphs have no citations-->
In November 2005, Pinochet was deemed fit to stand trial by the Chilean Supreme Court and was indicted and put under house arrest on [[tax fraud]] and passport forgery charges but was released on bail; however, he remained under house arrest due to unrelated human rights charges.

This tax fraud filing, related to Pinochet's and his family's secret bank accounts in the United States and in Caribbean islands, for an amount of US$27&nbsp;million, shocked the pro-Pinochet wing of Chilean public opinion more than the accusations of human rights abuses. Ninety percent of these funds would have been raised between 1990 and 1998, when Pinochet was Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and would essentially have come from weapons traffic (when purchasing Belgian Mirage fighter aircraft in 1994, Dutch Léopard tanks, Swiss Mowag tanks or by illegal sales of weapons to Croatia, in the middle of the Balkan war; the later case has been linked by Chilean justice with the assassination of Colonel [[Gerardo Huber]] in 1992). General Pinochet was reported to have owed the Chilean tax administration a total of $16.5 million.

In that case, Pinochet's immunity was stripped by the Appeal Court of Santiago, and confirmed by the Supreme Court on 19 October 2005. The legal proceedings could have eventually led to a trial against Pinochet, his wife [[Lucia Hiriart]] and one of his sons, Marco Antonio Pinochet, who was sued for complicity. Judge [[Juan Guzmán Tapia]] was skeptical, however, of the probability of a trial, either for human rights violations or for financial fraud. Nonetheless, indications from a number of medical examinations suggested that the physical and mental condition of the former dictator would have allowed him to be prosecuted. On 23 November 2005, judge Carlos Cerda charged Pinochet for fraud and ordered his arrest. Pinochet was freed under caution on the grounds that "his freedom did not represent a danger for the security of the society". This was the fourth time in seven years that Pinochet was indicted and charged for illegal behavior.

On 23 February 2006, Pinochet's wife Lucia Hiriart, children Augusto, [[Lucía Pinochet|Lucía]], Jacqueline, Marco Antonio, and Maria Verónica, daughter-in-law, and personal secretary were indicted on charges of tax fraud, including failing to declare bank accounts overseas, and using false passports. Lucía fled to the US, but was detained and returned to Argentina, her country of departure, after attempting unsuccessfully to claim political asylum.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/28/chile.pinochet/?section=cnn_topstories "U.S. sends back Pinochet daughter"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111165109/http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/28/chile.pinochet/?section=cnn_topstories |date=11 November 2007 }}, [[CNN]], 18 January 2006 {{in lang|en}}</ref> Pinochet's wife, five children, and 17 other persons (including two generals, one of his ex-lawyer and his ex-secretary) were arrested in October 2007 on charges of [[embezzlement]] and use of false passports in the context of the Riggs affair. They are{{needs update|date=December 2021}} accused of having illegally transferred $27m (£13.2m) to foreign bank accounts during Pinochet's rule.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7028503.stm Pinochet family arrested in Chile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012020321/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7028503.stm |date=12 October 2007 }}, BBC, 4 October 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref><ref>[http://docs.latercera.cl/especiales/2007/cobertura_Caso_Riggs/portada2.html "Cobertura Especial: Detienen a familia y principales colaboradores de Pinochet"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011195856/http://docs.latercera.cl/especiales/2007/cobertura_Caso_Riggs/portada2.html |date=11 October 2007 }}, ''[[La Tercera]]'', 4 October 2007 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

== Impact in Chile==
In Chile where most of the [[politics of Chile|politics]] was organized around the parties' position on [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|Pinochet's dictatorship]] the arrest came as a "shock".<ref name=Dávila/> The arrest of Pinochet strained Chile's centre-left governing coalition [[Concertación]]. [[President of Chile|President]] [[Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle]]'s government that handled the case up to March 11, 2000, had three ministers who had been victims of Pinochet's regime.<ref name=Huneeus>[[Carlos Huneeus|Huneeus, Carlos]] (2007). [http://www.archivochile.com/Dictadura_militar/pinochet/sobre/DMsobrepino80004.pdf Las consecuencias del caso Pinochet en la política chilena]. Centro de. Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea.</ref> Pinochet was also suspected to have had a hand in the [[death of Eduardo Frei Montalva]], the president's father.<ref name=Huneeus/> To appear to be defending Pinochet abroad was reportedly an uncomfortable situation, but this depended on considerations of the internal politics of Chile and in particular the governments relation with the [[Chilean Army]].<ref name=Huneeus/> Minister of the [[Ministry General Secretariat of Government (Chile)|General Secretary of Government]] [[Jorge Arrate]], who had been an exile in the [[Netherlands]]<ref name=Huneeus/> during the dictatorship saw positively on the news, while former president [[Patricio Aylwin]] considered that crimes committed in Chile should not be judged abroad.<ref name=Dávila>Dávila, Mireya, 2019. [https://www.uchile.cl/documentos/veinte-anos-de-la-detencion-de-pinochet-en-londres-y-sus-efectos-en-el-sistema-politico-chileno-pdf_148064_0_2827.pdf Veinte años de la detención de Pinochet en Londres y sus efectos en el sistema político chileno]. Conference paper. [[University of Chile]].</ref> The Chilean government's lawyer involved in the case declared explicitly that the country was not defending Pinochet but its "judicial sovereignty".<ref name=Dávila/> 

The heightened political animosity sorrounding the case led to disturbances both in and outside the [[Congress of Chile]] during the [[Mensaje_a_la_nación#Chile|Presidents' Public Account]] of May 21, 1999, in Valparaíso.<ref>{{Cite report |title=A demonstration on 21 May 1999 in Valparaiso in front of the National Congress and treatment of participants by the authorities [CHL36536.E] |date=2001-02-27 |url=https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/1143308.html |issue=Dokument #1143308 |publisher=[[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada]]}}</ref> On June 22, 1999, in what is judged a direct consequence of the arrest and indictment of Pinochet, Frei Ruiz-Tagle [[Cabinet reshuffle|shuffled his cabinet]].<ref name=Dávila/> Arrate was changed for [[Carlos Mladinic]] and [[Edmundo Pérez Yoma]] was appointed [[Ministry of National Defense (Chile)|minister of National Defense]], among other changes.<ref name=Dávila/> In the [[Socialist Party of Chile|Socialist Party]], Arrate was part of a larger group that was contrary to the government's position.<ref name=Dávila/><ref name=Huneeus/> The polarized atmosphere the detention had caused in Chile is reported to have been detrimental to the Socialist Party's candidate for the [[1999–2000 Chilean presidential election]], [[Ricardo Lagos]].<ref name=Huneeus/> Lagos went nevertheless to on to win the Concercación primaries defeating the Christian Democrat [[Andrés Zaldívar]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=Historias de primarias: cómo se crearon, cuáles fueron las más peleadas y qué rol juegan hoy |date=2021-07-15 |url=https://www.latercera.com/la-tercera-pm/noticia/historias-de-primarias-como-se-crearon-cuales-fueron-las-mas-peleadas-y-que-rol-juegan-hoy/YRZQKPKC3ZCCBB3E72HNHDM46I/ |access-date=2024-12-03 |work=[[La Tercera]] |language=Spanish|last=Quezada|first=Juan Andrés}}</ref> and then narrowly defeated [[Alliance (Chile)|Alliance]]'s [[Joaquín Lavín]] in the second round.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://historico.servel.cl/SitioHistorico/index1999_p2v.htm |title=Votación País Presidencial 2ª v 1999 |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=[[Electoral Service]]}}</ref>

==Allegations during Pinochet's last days==
In 2006, General [[Manuel Contreras]], head of the Chilean [[secret police]] [[Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional|DINA]] under Pinochet, alleged in a testimony sent to Judge Claudio Pavez (overseeing the [[Gerardo Huber|Huber case]]) that Pinochet and his son Marco Antonio Pinochet had been involved in the clandestine production of [[chemical weapons|chemical]] and [[biological weapons]], and in the production (under [[Eugenio Berríos]]'s direction), sale and [[illegal drug trade|trafficking of cocaine]].<ref>Jonathan Franklin, [https://www.theguardian.com/chile/story/0,,1818137,00.html Pinochet 'sold cocaine to Europe and US'], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 11 July 2006 {{in lang|en}}</ref> These allegations were never fully investigated by the Chilean courts, nor by a government commission set up to establish their veracity.

Fifteen years of investigations also revealed that Pinochet was at the center of an illegal [[arms trafficking|arms trade]] organized around FAMAE (Factories and Arsenals of the Army of Chile), which received money from various [[Offshore company|offshore]] and [[front companies]], including the [[Banco Coutts International]] in [[Miami]].<ref name=Chaparro>Andrea Chaparro Solís, [http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20060613/pags/20060613215629.html Generales (R) y civiles de Famae procesados en caso armas a Croacia] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120629184537/http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20060613/pags/20060613215629.html |date=29 June 2012 }}, ''[[La Nación (Chile)|La Nación]]'', 13 June 2006 {{in lang|es}}</ref> One of the deals notably included the transfer of 370 tons of weapons to [[Croatia]], which was under UN embargo because of the [[Croatian War of Independence|war against Serbia]].<ref name=Chaparro/> Another involved a 1995 arms contract with [[Ecuador]] which gave rise to [[bribery|kickbacks]], some of which ended up in Pinochet's bank accounts abroad.<ref name=Ecuador>Andrea Chaparro Solís, [http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20060604/pags/20060604192749.html Consejo de Defensa del Estado se hace querellante en caso armas a Ecuador] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130116031600/http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20060604/pags/20060604192749.html |date=16 January 2013 }}, ''[[La Nación (Chile)|La Nación]]'', 5 June 2006 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Operation Condor]]
* [[Chile under Pinochet]]
* [[Chilean transition to democracy]]
* [[Chilean political scandals]]
* [[Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann]]
* [[Pinocheques]]
* ''[[Pinochet in Suburbia]]'', 2006 docudrama

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727175103/http://www.pinochet-a-biography.org/19.html The Pinochet Case in London, 1998–2000 at ''Augusto Pinochet (1915–2006) – A Biography'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071017213928/http://www.trial-ch.org/fr/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/augusto-jose-ramon_pinochet-ugarte_50.html TRIAL: Pinochet's trials]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060826022852/http://news.amnesty.org/pages/pinochet_timeline Timeline of Pinochet Prosecution] (Amnesty International)
* [http://www.pinochetreal.cl/ Pinochet Real – For Supporters of General Pinochet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629002423/http://www.pinochetreal.cl/ |date=29 June 2006 }} {{in lang|es}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060813124725/http://www.trentu.ca/~mneumann/pinochet.html "The crimes of Augusto Pinochet"] (several case studies)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/10/98/the_pinochet_file/newsid_198000/198306.stm BBC coverage] (special report)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3604122.stm Article: "Doubts Remain over Pinochet's Fate: Chile's 'antiquated penal code' could be his undoing"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19991115165001/http://www.reconcile-chile.co.uk/press_releases.html Reconcile Chile]
* [http://www.gobiernodechile.cl/comision_valech/index.asp Valech report on political imprisonment and torture, November 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824034043/http://www.gobiernodechile.cl/comision_valech/index.asp |date=24 August 2006 }} {{in lang|es}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4352905.stm BBC News report: "Banks accused over Pinochet cash"]
* [https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr22/010/1999/en/ Amnesty International]
* [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm George Washington University article]

{{Augusto Pinochet}}
{{1973 Chilean coup d'état}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet}}
[[Category:Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet| ]]
[[Category:1998 in Chile]]
[[Category:1998 in London]]
[[Category:1998 in law]]

[[fr:Augusto Pinochet#Arrestation à Londres]]
[[Category:Indictments]]
[[Category:Arrests of individual people|Pinochet, Augusto]]