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London court dashes Pinochet's hopes of early release    

Agence France Presse 08-02-99

                                    
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's hopes for an imminent return home were dashed on Tuesday when a London court gave his pursuers the right to push on with their legal battle to block his release on health grounds.                                     
In the latest twist to a see-saw 16-month legal battle, three appeal-court judges decided that Pinochet's opponents had a strong enough case to merit a full hearing into whether the 84-year-old general should be released on health grounds.                                     
Had the court ruled against Pinochet's opponents on Tuesday, the ailing former Chilean leader could have been rapidly released and flown home on a Chilean aircraft on standby near London. But following the ruling, Belgium and the human-rights groups pushing for the extradition of the ex-dictator can now pursue their argument that it would be unfair to release Pinochet on the strength of medical tests, the results of which have never been made public.                                     
They will also be able to appeal against any rulings all the way to the House of Lords, Britain's highest court, if necessary, promising weeks of further legal tussles while Pinochet remains under house arrest near London.                                     
The coalition of rights groups has maintained that British Home Secretary Jack Straw was wrong to propose releasing Pinochet without disclosing the nature of the ailment that makes him unfit to stand trial.                                     
London's High Court threw out the argument last week, but on Tuesday the appeal chamber of the court said the merits of the argument were worth looking at in a full hearing. The court now faces two options: it will either rule that the medical report should be released for lengthy scrutiny by Pinochet's pursuers; or it will reject the request, in which case further appeals are possible. "The implication of this decision is that an appeal before the House of Lords by either party becomes possible," said Amnesty International, as it hailed Tuesday's ruling.                                 
The crux of the legal wrangling over Pinochet's fate rests on the medical tests conducted on January 5.
The ailing former dictator only agreed to the examination on condition that the results remain confidential, and his lawyers argue that releasing them now would violate his human rights.But Pinochet's opponents maintain that Straw had no right to dish out favourable treatment to Pinochet.