Dear Sir,

The decision by the Law Lords to agree with the previous ruling, in the case of General Pinochet's extradition to Spain, has sent a clear message across the world that the UK will not tolerate human right abusers in this country. Moreover, it has lit a candle of hope for the victims of brutal regimes that they may at last get truth and justice. It is therefore imperative that the Labour Government respects the Law Lords decision and we urge the Government to continue to support the case of Justice and facilitate the extradition of General Pinochet to Spain.

As you well know, General Pinochet will not be brought to justice in Chile, regardless of however many cases that are opened against him in the Chilean Courts. During his regime General Pinochet passed an Amnesty Law and introduced Constitutional Provisions to ensure that he has absolute immunity in Chile. Even were he to have his immunity overturned his case would be automatically turned over to the Military Courts, who would naturally never find him guilty of any crime.

The new ruling by the Law Lords has stated that only crimes committed after 1988 are allowed within the extradition warrant. This does not diminish the seriousness of the abuses, but rather enhances them. General Pinochet may claim that he was "fighting a battle against the left" in the early years of the coup, but in no circumstances can this be true in 1988. Indeed the list of human right abuses post 1988 (and there are many), is further proof of his disregard for human rights. The 'Torture Convention' states that "If the states with the most obvious jurisdiction (i.e. Chile) did not seek to extradite, the state where the alleged torturer was found had to prosecute, or extradite to another country". Furthermore, in Pinochet's indictment there are over 1000 cases of forced "disappearances". This is a permanent crime which is qualified as a "torture" by the UN Forced Disappearances Convention (December 18, 1992) and The European Court of Human Rights in 1988. These crimes are imprescriptible, therefore they have continued after 1988.

The British government must continue to stand firm in its commitment to international law and to show that it has the strength of will to back legal decisions with firm action, to ensure that men such as General Pinochet do not have impunity from their crimes. His victims, their families and those around the world who work tirelessly for human rights, deserve no less.

For Truth and Justice to survive it needs to be upheld and made to work by exemplary democracies. This is a crucial advance in the struggle for human rights against the impunity of tyrants.

Yours sincerely,