Pinochet dead at 91 without ever facing trial
Legal World
Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet has died, according to an announcement from a military hospital in Santiago. Pinochet, 91, suffered a major heart attack.
In recent years Chilean authorities have made multiple efforts to bring the ex-dictator to justice for dozens of human rights violations he is accused of committing during his military rule from 1973 to 1990.
Pinochet suffered from mild dementia, strokes, arthritis and other ailments that made his fitness to stand trial questionable. He enjoyed general immunity from prosecution under the 1980 Chilean Constitution, but was incrementally stripped of that immunity in light of charges brought against him.
Two weeks ago, a judge ordered he be placed under house arrest in connection with the executions of two of former President Salvador Allende's bodyguards during the so-called Caravan of Death that followed the 1973 coup in which Pinochet seized power; the house arrest order was lifted earlier this week for his recuperation. Last month, on the occasion of his birthday, Pinochet publicly assumed full political responsibility for the actions of his former regime.
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