| NEW
YORK - March 24 -
Human Rights Watch today expressed satisfaction that the House of Lords rejected
Augusto Pinochet's bid for blanket immunity and that his extradition case would
move forward. At the same time, the group criticized the Lords's ruling that
Pinochet could not be pursued for crimes committed in Chile before Britain
adopted the United Nations Torture Convention in 1988.
"This decision dispels any doubts," said Reed Brody, advocacy director
of
Human Rights Watch, which was authorized by the Lords to take part in the case.
"Not even a self-proclaimed president like General Pinochet can claim
immunity for torture, or give himself amnesty for his crimes."
Brody, who attended all of the Law Lords' hearings on the issue,
nevertheless questioned the Lords' decision to bar Pinochet's arrest and
extradition for crimes committed before 1988. "The Lords' ruling on
retroactivity does not make sense as a matter of law or of public policy,"
said Brody. "Torture was firmly prohibited in international law, Chilean
law, British law and Spanish law well before Pinochet took power, even before
the Torture Convention was adopted. Certainly Pinochet knew that torture was a
crime."
The group regretted that the case would now have to proceed in Britain
with a narrower focus. Pinochet's worst crimes were committed during the period
of state of siege between 1973 and 1978. According to Chile's official National
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, torture was "systematic but more
selective" from 1978 until Pinochet stepped down in 1990. One case raised
by the Crown prosecutors which would not be barred by the Lords' ruling is that
of 17 year old student Marcos Quezada Yañez who, according to the Truth
Commission, was killed by electric shock torture on June 24, 1989. The Spanish
extradition request contains at least 28 cases of torture and executions which
occurred after September 1988.
In their ruling, the Law Lords gave validity to the charges of conspiracy
to commit torture. Although the Lords limited conspiracy to the years after
1988, their ruling should allow a full investigation into Gen. Pinochet's role
in creating a secret police apparatus and implementing plans to torture and
murder political opponents in Chile and abroad.
Brody noted that the Lords explicitly mentioned the discretionary powers
of British Home Secretary Jack Straw in the Pinochet extradition. "The ball
is really in Jack Straw's court," said Brody. "He can still turn
Pinochet over to Spain for prosecution of his full range of crimes."
Human Rights Watch also suggested that despite the Lords' ruling, Spain
could still try Pinochet for the full range of crimes for which he is accused.
The European Convention on Extradition, to which both Britain and Spain are
parties, limits a state to trying an accused for those crimes for which he was
extradited, but expressly provides that the sending state can consent to a wider
prosecution. Human Rights Watch called on the Spanish authorities to seek, and
the British government to consent to, a broader Spanish prosecution, which the
Lords' ruling would not preclude.
In light of the Lords' narrow ruling, Human Rights Watch called on the
United States to seek the ex-dictator's extradition for the 1976 car-bombing by
Pinochet's secret police which killed former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando
Letelier and his American colleague Ronni Moffitt in Washington D.C. "This
clear act of terrorism on U.S. soil—a simple act of murder—wouldn't face the
same legal obstacles the Lords found in applying the torture convention
retroactively," said Brody.
Human Rights Watch also called on the
United States to turn over documents sought by Spanish magistrate Baltasar
Garzón on Pinochet's role in abuses. A recent Clinton administration directive
asks U.S. government agencies to release documents by mid-May, but the Pentagon
and C.I.A. are resisting. "It has been three months since the U.S.
announced that it would review its records, but not one document has been
released," said Brody. "The State Department, the Pentagon and the
C.I.A. should cooperate with this investigation by making a full disclosure
regarding Pinochet's crimes."
Brody said that since Pinochet's arrest in October, Human Rights Watch
and victims' groups have been exploring avenues to bring other leading human
rights criminals to justice. "This definitive rejection of immunity will
inspire victims' groups all over the world," said Brody. "There are a
lot of former tyrants out there who had better watch out."
###
|
Share This Article With A Friend