Would the proposed constitutional reform give Pinochet additional ways to evade prosecution? The proposed reform would allow Pinochet to retire from the Senate, while retaining for life his senatorial privileges, including his salary and parliamentary immunity. Pinochet's lawyers would presumably argue that the procedures for lifting parliamentary immunity (desafuero) do not apply to ex-presidents, to whom the Constitutional reform would accord a special status. Human Rights Watch has called on President Frei to abandon this reform proposal which adds an extra obstacle to Pinochet's trial in Chile. Unless Frei does so, the proposal is likely to become law in the final week of March. Go to: What legal devices will enable human rights activists to get around the amnesty law? Back to: The Pinochet Precedent: the End of Impunity?