Thursday, December 10, 1998 Published at 15:39 GMT
Pinochet makes historic Lords appeal
Protesters in Santiago burnt the British flag
In an unprecedented move, lawyers for General Augusto Pinochet are asking the House of Lords to set aside a decision by Law Lords that the former Chilean leader does not enjoy sovereign immunity.
His wife, Gillian, apparently also works as an administrative assistant at Amnesty International.
The lawyers' move comes a day after UK Home Secretary Jack Straw gave the go-ahead for extradition proceedings against the 83-year-old general.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had been informed of the move.
It is unheard of in modern times for House of Lords rulings to be appealed but a spokesman for the Lords said arrangements would be made for it to be heard by an appeal committee of the Law Lords.
He said they were also considering applying for leave to apply for judicial review of the Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision to issue an "Authority to Proceed".
Amnesty said the charity had also received support from the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Bingham, who ruled that General Pinochet was immune from prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Spanish judge seeking the extradition of the former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, has issued a 285-page indictment charging the general with crimes against humanity.
Judge Baltasar Garzon, who ordered General Pinochet's arrest in October, also asked for his worldwide assets to be frozen.
The indictment says Gen Pinochet is responsible for the death or disappearance of more than 3,000 people.
It accuses him of being responsible for genocide, torture and terrorism.
Judge Garzon has conducted a two-year investigation into atrocities committed by various right-wing regimes in South America in the 1970s and 1980s.
In Chile police have used water cannon to disperse demonstrators protesting against the decision to allow extradition proceedings to go ahead.
Several hundred supporters of the general gathered outside the British ambassador's residence to voice their anger at Mr Straw's ruling.
They burned British flags and called for General Pinochet's immediate return to Chile.
President Eduardo Frei and Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Insulza are due to return to Santiago later on Thursday from a trade summit held in Brazil.
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