The Chilean judge who ordered General Augusto Pinochet put under house arrest six weeks ago released him on bail of two million pesos (£2,800).
Judge Juan Guzman took his decision to free the former Chilean dictator even though no request had been made by his lawyers.
Mr Guzman charged General Pinochet with masterminding the deaths and disappearance of some 75 political opponents in 1973.
However an appeals court ruled last week that he would faces charges as an accessory, rather than mastermind of the killings and abductions.
The charges were brought in connection with the military operation known as the "Caravan of Death," which took place in the weeks after the bloody September 1973 coup that brought the dictator to power.
The ailing, 85-year-old general has steadfastly denied the charges against him, and his lawyers insist the crimes were carried out on the orders of a subordinate.
AFP
