What is the status of the cases against Pinochet now in Chilean courts? Pinochet currently faces 59 criminal complaints in Chile for kidnapping, murder, and torture, all of which were lodged in 1998 and 1999 and are currently being investigated by Judge Juan Guzman Tapia of the Santiago Appeals Court. The cases are in the preliminary stage of investigation and Judge Guzman has yet to make formal charges against Pinochet. He sent a list of questions last year to Pinochet in London, but Pinochet, in his reply, refused to provide substantive answers. The charges against Pinochet include the abduction, torture, disappearance, and execution of thousands of political opponents. The crimes for which Pinochet is closest to indictment include his command responsibility for a military task force, popularly known as the "Caravan of Death," which removed scores of prisoners from jail and executed them one month after the 1973 military coup. Before the case against Pinochet can go ahead, Judge Guzman must first have Pinochet's senatorial immunity lifted. Go to: What is the procedure for revoking Pinochet's immunity Back to: The Pinochet Precedent: the End of Impunity?