Pinochet Trial Discussion List
Criminal Procedures Against Pinochet in Spain
Augusto Pinochet came to power in Chile in 1973, after deposing democratically-elected President Allende through a violent coup d'etat. It thus began a period of brutal repression at the hands of the armed and intelligence forces operating under the orders of Pinochet. Thousands of people were murdered or "disappeared", taken to concentration camps and brutally tortured; hundreds of thousands were arrested or had to seek exile abroad.
Pinochet exported the repression to other countries through "Operation Condor" - a plan of mutual cooperation among intelligence agencies of different South American countries. Chilean exilees in Argentina, Paraguya and other countries were thus persecuted and killed by Chilean forces.
While impunity (consagrated in the so-called "self-amnesty law" and the appointment of Pinochet as "senator-for-life") rules in Chile, the struggle for truth and justice continues. Given the practical impossibility of having Pinochet tried in Chile for the crimes against humanity he has committed, alternatives were sought in other countries. The Spanish courts were the first to accept their legal and moral obligations under international law and initiate investigations aobut the responsability of Pinochet and other Chilean and Argentinian military for crimes against humanity. It is a difficult road, and one full of political obstacles. We trust, however, that truth and justice will finally win the day.
Equipo Nizkor, in collaboration with the Allende Foundation, United Left and Chilean, Spanish and
Argentinian human rights groups, has been key in the planning and carrying out of the procedures in Spain against
Pinochet. In these pages, we offer some of the legal information on the trial, as well as urgent actions and other
Much more information is available in the Spanish pages.
Maintained by Margarita Lacabe and Gregorio Dionis.
Urgent Actions! | Legal Proceedings | Information | Analyses | Declarations | Links Update of the situation after the failure of the arbitration proposal as a solution to the Pinochet case 20sep99 Spanish and Chilean Foreign Ministers accused of deliberate obstruction to justice Aug 4, 1999 Extradite Pinochet! March 29, 1999 Pinochet Must be Extradited to Spain! Urgent Action - 27 Jan 1999 Help Extradite Pinochet! Urgent Action - 20 October 1998
Letter to President Aznar from the lawyers representing the popular accusation in the Pinochet case July 20, 1999 Special report on the preparation and development of General Augusto Pinochet's detention and Spanish judges' ruling recognizing the principle of universal criminal jurisdiction for domestic courts. Equipo Nizkor, Madrid, November 5, 1998 The Criminal Procedures against Chilean and Argentinian Repressors in Spain A Short Summary Derechos HR - October 1998 Spanish Criminal Prosecutions Use International Human Rights Law to Battle Impunity in Chile and Argentina. Richard Wilson Director Human Rights Law Clinic - American University.
The Act of State doctrine and 'public acts' for the purpose of sovereign immunity: a commentary on the Pinochet decision of the High Court of England Paul Simo
Statement on the judgment issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate, Ronald David Bartle, on Pinochet extradition Equipo Nizkor. 10oct99. Statement by Spanish human rights organizations on the competence of National Court and Augusto Pinochet's detention order Madrid, November 13, 1998. Lawyers Committee Disputes Immunity for Pinochet Nov. 3, 1998 Pinochet in England: High Court Ruling Violates International Law Oct. 29, 1998 - Equipo Nizkor - Derechos HR Pinochet Ruling: A Serious Blow To Human Rights International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Oct. 29, 1998 Members Of Congress Call On Clinton To Release Key Information On Gen. Pinochet To Spanish Judge Oct. 21, 1998 Fight Against Impunity Requires Augusto Pinochet Ugarte To Be Detained And Judged. Equipo Nizkor. Oct. 17, 1998 Written statement submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rigths in its 54th. session on the cases being investigated by the National Spanish Audience about disappeared Spanish citizens during the military dictatorships in Argentina and Chile. By the The Federation of Associations of Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (Spain) March 1998
Information on Pinochet
Documented Complicity by Lucy Komisar Kissinger Declassified by Lucy Komisar Chile and the United States Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup, 1970-1976 By the National Security Archives Punishing Pinochet By Peter Weiss (Vice-president of the Center of Constitutional Rights, which represented the family of Charles Horman, who was murdered in Chile shortly after the Pinochet coup). Pinochet; Is a Terrorist Hiding in Chile's Senate? By Scott Armstrong and Saul Landau (Scott Armstrong founded the National Security Archives in Washington. Saul Landau is chair of interdisciplinary applied knowledge at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies Autumn of the autocrat. By Saul Landau and Sarah Anderson Pinochet Feature - Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Chile under Pinochet - Info on the Human Rights violations committed by Pinochet & the proceedings in England Focus on Chile by Information Services Latin america Derechos Chile Remember Chile - Pinochet for beginners. Pinochet Fact File - Electronic Telegraph Links in Spanish