Human Rights Watch expressed satisfaction that the House of Lords rejected Augusto Pinochet's bid for blanket immunity and that his extradition case would move forward. At the same time, the group criticized the Lords's ruling that Pinochet could not be pursued for crimes committed in Chile before Britain adopted the United Nations Torture Convention in 1988.
Brody, who attended all of the Law Lords' hearings on the issue, nevertheless questioned the Lords' decision to bar Pinochet's arrest and extradition for crimes committed before 1988. "The Lords' ruling on retroactivity does not make sense as a matter of law or of public policy," said Brody. "Torture was firmly prohibited in international law, Chilean law, British law and Spanish law well before Pinochet took power, even before the Torture Convention was adopted. Certainly Pinochet knew that torture was a crime."
The group regretted that the case would now have to proceed in Britain with a narrower focus. Pinochet's worst crimes were committed during the period of state of siege between 1973 and 1978. According to Chile's official National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, torture was "systematic but more selective" from 1978 until Pinochet stepped down in 1990. One case raised by the Crown prosecutors which would not be barred by the Lords' ruling is that of 17 year old student Marcos Quezada Yañez who, according to the Truth Commission, was killed by electric shock torture on June 24, 1989. The Spanish extradition request contains at least 28 cases of torture and executions which occurred after September 1988.
In their ruling, the Law Lords gave validity to the charges of conspiracy to commit torture. Although the Lords limited conspiracy to the years after 1988, their ruling should allow a full investigation into Gen. Pinochet's role in creating a secret police apparatus and implementing plans to torture and murder political opponents in Chile and abroad.
Brody noted that the Lords explicitly mentioned the discretionary powers of British Home Secretary Jack Straw in the Pinochet extradition. "The ball is really in Jack Straw's court," said Brody. "The case of torture and conspiracy is still strong and there is no reason to reverse his earlier decision."
Human Rights Watch also suggested that despite the Lords' ruling, Spain could still try Pinochet for the full range of crimes for which he is accused. The European Convention on Extradition, to which both Britain and Spain are parties, limits a state to trying an accused for those crimes for which he was extradited, but expressly provides that the sending state can consent to a wider prosecution. Human Rights Watch called on the Spanish authorities to seek, and the British government to consent to, a broader Spanish prosecution, which the Lords' ruling would not preclude.
In light of the Lords' narrow ruling, Human Rights Watch called on the United States to seek the ex-dictator's extradition for the 1976 car-bombing by Pinochet's secret police which killed former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and his American colleague Ronni Moffitt in Washington D.C. "This clear act of terrorism on U.S. soil—a simple act of murder—wouldn't face the same legal obstacles the Lords found in applying the torture convention retroactively," said Brody.
Human Rights Watch also called on the United States to turn over documents sought by Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón on Pinochet's role in abuses. A recent Clinton administration directive asks U.S. government agencies to release documents by mid-May, but the Pentagon and C.I.A. are resisting. "It has been three months since the U.S. announced that it would review its records, but not one document has been released," said Brody. "The State Department, the Pentagon and the C.I.A. should cooperate with this investigation by making a full disclosure regarding Pinochet's crimes."
Brody said that since Pinochet's arrest in October, Human Rights Watch and victims' groups have been exploring avenues to bring other leading human rights criminals to justice. "This definitive rejection of immunity will inspire victims' groups all over the world," said Brody. "There are a lot of former tyrants out there who had better watch out."
