Lawyers representing Gen Augusto Pinochet are expected to lodge an appeal within the next two weeks, after a magistrate in London yesterday ruled that the former Chilean dictator could be committed for extradition to Spain on 35 torture charges, including one of conspiracy to torture.
Anti-Pinochet activists whooped with delight and popped champagne corks outside Bow Street Magistrates Court while Gen Pinochet protested his innocence in a statement read out in court.
The deputy chief stipendiary magistrate, Mr Ronald Bartle, held that all the legal conditions had been satisfied to commit Gen Pinochet for extradition. He said that he concurred with the decision of the House of Lords last March that the 1984 Convention Against Torture did have universal application, thereby satisfying the principle of "double criminality" since the convention had been incorporated into United Kingdom domestic law by the 1988 Criminal Justice Act.
Amnesty International immediately welcomed the decision, saying the ruling had "moved human rights into a new era". In Chile, Gen Pinochet's supporters said the ruling was "the worst scenario we could have expected. It's negative, not only for us, but for all Chile."
While the ruling means that Gen Pinochet must remain under house arrest in his rented home in Surrey, his lawyers said they would consider the next legal move. The lawyers may apply for a writ of habeas corpus in the High Court and the appeal could go back to the House of Lords once again for consideration before it is turned over to the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw. This decision, in turn, could be challenged by judicial review.
Emphasising that he could find no basis for the proposition that material not considered by the Home Secretary when he issued an authority to proceed with extradition earlier this year could not be considered by the court hearing the case, Mr Bartle said: "The further material, objected to by the defence, is in my view supplementary to and in amplification of the conduct alleged against Senator Pinochet, namely his involvement in acts of torture and conspiracy to commit such acts."
He went on to point out that Spain's High Court had on two occasions ruled that the allegations against Gen Pinochet amounted to extraditable offences under Spanish law and as a magistrate with no knowledge of Spanish law, he said, he would not challenge the ruling of senior Spanish judges regarding the law of their own country.
The ailing Gen Pinochet was not in court for the announcement but his counsel, Mr Clive Nicholls QC, read out a statement condemning the extradition process as "politically motivated" and protesting his innocence: "As the former president of the republic of Chile and senator, I declare that I am not guilty of the crimes of which I am accused.
"Spain has not produced a single piece of evidence which shows that I am guilty. Not only that, I believe that Spain has not properly investigated any of these crimes and Spain does not even have jurisdiction to try me. It acts in violation of the sovereignty of Chile. The events in Chile have nothing whatsoever to do with Spain. It has long been clear that my extradition is politically motivated and being pursued clearly for political reasons."
As anti-Pinochet supporters celebrated in the street outside the court, Lord Tebbit and Conservative MP Mr Gerald Howarth renewed their appeal for the general's return to Chile. Mr Howarth said: "It is scandalous that Britain should stand in the way of reconciliation in Chile, usurping the right of the Chilean people to decide on these matters."