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BRITAIN ARRESTS PINOCHET TO FACE CHARGES BY SPAIN [1]

['Clifford Krauss']

Date: 1998-10-18

Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who reigned over Chile as a dictator for 17 years and came to symbolize the excesses of military rule in Latin America, has been arrested in London after Spain asked that he be extradited for the presumed murders of hundreds of Chilean and Spanish citizens, the British authorities announced yesterday.

General Pinochet, 82, who stepped down as Commander in Chief of the Chilean military seven months ago, was arrested by the British police on Friday night, little more than a week after he arrived in London for surgery on a herniated disc.

The highly unusual arrest sets up what promises to be a legal struggle that could have wide implications for the prosecution of alleged human rights violators under international law. It also appeared to break fresh ground in holding former leaders granted immunity in their own countries internationally accountable for human rights abuses committed during their rule.

The arrest warrant said the general was wanted for questioning for ''crimes of genocide and terrorism that include murder.''

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/18/world/britain-arrests-pinochet-to-face-charges-by-spain.html

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