Pinochet accused over murder of ex-president

[Judi Lynn]

Pinochet accused over murder of ex-president

Jonathan Franklin in Santiago
Thursday May 18, 2006
The Guardian

Army generals and aides in Chile have accused General Augusto Pinochet of involvement in the murder of the former president Eduardo Frei Montalva, who died mysteriously in January 1982.

Judge Alejandro Madrid has received evidence that the infection that killed Frei at a hospital in Santiago was the result of a secret biological weapons programme run by Gen Pinochet's secret police.

"At first they did not believe us," said Senator Eduardo Frei, son of the former president. "We have been convinced that there was intervention by a third party in the death of President Frei."

Retired army generals asked Judge Madrid for permission to present evidence that Gen Pinochet had ordered the "disappearance" of Eugenio Berrios, a secret operative who designed his biochemical warfare programme, including production of anthrax, botulism and the nerve gas sarin. Berrios is suspected of designing the bacterial agent that struck down Frei while he was in a hospital recovering from a hernia operation. Alvaro Varela, the Frei family lawyer, called the new evidence "precise, clear and concrete" in proving that Gen Pinochet announced the order to have Barrios kidnapped and killed. According to leaked testimony, the dictator was worried that Berrios would reveal he had personally ordered the murder of senior opposition figures including Frei and Orlando Letelier, a former chancellor.
(snip/...)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/chile/story/0,,1777125,00.html



Henry Kissinger, on the left, Pinochet, facing camera

[Midnight Rambler]

1. Great. Now when can we put Kissinger on trial?

Shouldn't he be a co-defendant here or something?

[TacticalPeek]

2. Kick.

:kick:

[struggle4progress]

3. kick

:kick:

[Jack Rabbit]

4. I hope it doesn't take thirty-five years for justice to catch up with Bush

[Minstrel Boy]

5. "At first they did not believe us"

I know the feeling.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Pinochet Questioned About Disappearances

Pinochet Questioned About Disappearances

Friday May 19, 2006 3:46 AM

By EDUARDO GALLARDO
Associated Press Writer

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - A judge Thursday questioned Gen. Augusto Pinochet about the disappearance of scores of dissidents during his 1973-90 regime in a step that could lead to an indictment against the former dictator.

Judge Victor Montiglio, who interviewed Pinochet for almost two hours at his mansion, said the former ruler had ``fully cooperated.''

Pinochet has been stripped of legal immunity in the case and the questioning was the last step in a process that could lead Montiglio to indict Pinochet for the disappearance of 37 dissidents during the so-called Operation Colombo, in which 119 dissidents were killed.

At the time of the killings, the Pinochet regime claimed the victims died in clashes between rival opposition groups.
(snip/...)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5831643,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vacation photos from a site in google images, taken at the prisoner camp, Villa Grimaldi (only one of a group) in Chile, where the suspected left-wing victims were kept during the Pinochet (Nixon-supported) regime:



Villa Grimaldi Memorial Fountain, Villa Grimaldi torture tower, Villa Grimaldi prisoner hut, memorial wall for human rights deaths