(2 Mar 2000) English/Nat
Amnesty International has called on the Chilean government to ensure that Augusto Pinochet and others accused of human rights abuses be brought to justice.
The international human rights organisation, which backed a bid to extradite Pinochet to Spain, said the Chilean government are under an obligation to remove legal obstacles which have made justice impossible.
Amnesty International had strongly backed a legal bid to have Augusto Pinochet extradited to Spain.
Last month the human rights organisation won a British High Court hearing to make public a medical examination of the former Chilean dictator.
On Thursday, hours after Pinochet's departure for Santiago, the organisation said it was now up Chile to try him.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It is now up to the Chilean government to decide whether those suspected to be responsible for the thousands of cases of torture, murder and disappearance that took place during his time in power will ever face a court of justice. The Chilean government must now live up to its commitment to ensure that those accused of crimes against humanity be tried in Chile in trials meeting international standards of fairness. The Chilean authorities are under an obligation to remove the legal obstacles that have made justice impossible within Chile and which have secured the impunity denying truth and justice to the victims of human rights violations and their relatives.
SUPER CAPTION: Vincent del Buono, Amnesty International Deputy Secretary General
Human Rights Watch said there was not a strong likelihood that Pinochet would be brought to justice.
But that the attempt to bring the Chilean dictator to trial had set a precedent for other cases around the world.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's not a great likelihood that he is going to be brought to account but there is a fight that needs to be carried out. We cannot give up on bringing to prosecute Pinochet because his example, the example we managed to get with Pinochet now is taken root in other places in the world, Hussein Habri is being indicted in Senegal because of human rights atrocities exactly on the same principle that Pinochet has been indicted. We need to push to come to a fair conclusion, to a just conclusion of this case. If he cannot defend himself then he doesn't need to be tried, it doesn't make any sense. But if he can defend himself he has got to appear before the court of law."
SUPER CAPTION: Wilder Tayler, legal director of Human Rights Watch
Tayler said there was a strong human rights movement in Chile, which Human Rights Watch would be supporting.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"There are real investigations now in Chile and there is a very powerful, very committed human rights movement who want to bring Pinochet to account. So we are going to support them, we are going to support them."
SUPERCAPTION: Wilder Tayler, legal director of Human Rights Watch
Relatives of the victims of Pinochet's regime who have fought for so long for justice are now pinning their hopes on the Chilean government.
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