Search

The Pinochet case marks a milestone for international human rights. On December 9, Britain's Home Secretary Jack Straw decided that the extradition proceedings can move ahead. It was a small […]

The Iraqi government calls on Parliament to approve a $400m settlement for Americans who claim they were abused by Saddam Hussein's regime. Government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh also said that Iraq [...]

Twenty-five years ago, Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew President Salvadore Allende and the elected government of Chile. From 1973 until he stepped down in 1990, the military junta he led secured […]

KRT FORUM By Mark Weisbrot WASHINGTON _ There is an old joke, much better known in Latin America than it is here, about U.S. adventures abroad: Why has there never […]

KRT FORUM By Saul Landau The arrest of Chilean ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet in England marks an advance for human rights. Pinochet was detained in London on Oct. 17 on a […]

The Baghdad government has quietly agreed to pay $400m in claims to American citizens who say they were tortured or traumatised by Saddam's dictatorship after his August 1990 invasion of [...]

SANTIAGO, Chile _ In the 25 years since her husband was summarily executed by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Graciela Alvarez has complained to anyone who would listen. She has […]

The Swiss government extended a freeze on former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier's bank accounts here for another year, reports AFP (Aug. 23, 2007): 7.6 million Swiss francs (US$6.2 million) held [...]

Ex-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Chancellor Norman Lamont spoke at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference on Oct. 6, 1999, in an attempt to raise the profile of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet's supporters are seeking to prevent his extradition to Spain to face trial on 35 charges of torture. Pinochet's lawyers have claimed that there is little difference between the torture charges and cases of police brutality in democratic countries, and that a prisoner subjected to electric shocks had not been tortured because he died instantly.

Lawyers for former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet took immediate action on Mar. 24, 1999, after the law lords ruled that he could be prosecuted and extradited for offences of torture and conspiracy to torture committed after Dec. 8, 1988. Pinochet's lawyers appealed to the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus together with leave to seek a judicial review of the authority to go ahead with extradition proceedings which Home Secretary Jack Straw issued in Dec. 1998. The law lords' ruling has reduced the case against Pinochet from 30 charges to just three.

The Pentagon declares Saddam a prisoner of war, ending a period of undetermined status for the ousted dictator. Under the 'prisoner of war' classification, Saddam must be treated in accordance [...]

A Spanish judge has collected a mass of evidence against Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, and a warrant for his extradition has been sent to the United Kingdom. Pinochet pleaded immunity from prosecution but he has been refused immunity by five Law Lords. The decision has been met with mixed emotions in Chile and around the world. Pinochet's supporters in Chile are furious while opponents in Spain are jubilant. Pinochet is frail and some politicians feel he should not be put through the ordeal of a trial. They are also worried about the trade implications of extraditing Pinochet.

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, arrested in the London Clinic on Oct. 16, 1998, could be free to return to Chile as early as the week of Nov. 2, 1998, after winning a High Court battle against his arrest and detention. Pinochet is alleged to have ordered the deaths of more than 4,000 people but Lord Chief Justice Lord Bingham ruled on Oct. 28, 1998, that he could not be tried for acts he committed as head of state. Bingham quashed the provisional extradition warrants made at Spain's request but the Crown Prosecution Service was given leave to appeal to the House of Lords.

The arrest of General Augusto Pinochet, former 82-year-old Chilean dictator, has caused a political dispute in the UK. Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary, was the first minister to know about the arrest in advance, his department having advised that Pinochet's passport did not grant him diplomatic immunity. There has been speculation that the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, is thinking of authorizing the release of Pinochet for compassionate reasons.

UK Home Secretary Jack Straw hinted on Oct. 22, 1998, that former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, who is under arrest in a London, England, hospital, could be sent home on compassionate grounds. Pinochet's arrest at the request of the Spanish government which wants to extradite him in connection with the murder of Spanish citizens in Chile when he was head of state is threatening to turn into a diplomatic crisis. The growing controversy threatens to overshadow the visit to Britain of Argentinian Pres. Carlos Menem in the week of Oct. 26, 1998.

Former Argentine dictator Gen. Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri (1981-1982) was arrested on July 11 for human rights abuses allegedly committed two decades ago. Judge Claudio Bonadio ordered the 76-year-old Galtieri and [...]

Switzerland has been attempting for close on 24 years to return to Haiti money allegedly stolen by Haiti's former dictator, Jean-Claude Duvalier. Haiti requested a freezing of the $5 million following Duvalier's ouster back in 1986, and the money has been in legal limbo ever since. Haiti has not been able to follow through with a strong case and Duvalier, in exile in France, has also been seeking the money's return. Now, the Swiss government will vote on a bill that may see the money returned to Haiti.

After an Iraqi court imposed the death sentence upon former president Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity, Shiites celebrated the verdict, while Sunnis threatened bloodshed.