Chile’s Supreme Court in Santiago has upheld a ruling stripping Gen Augusto Pinochet of his immunity against trial for the killing of two bodyguards of Salvador Allende, the Marxist president he toppled in a 1973 coup.

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet told a judge his former security chief was to blame for one of the most notorious cases of human rights abuses during his 1973-90 rule.

A judge today granted bail to former Chile military strongman Augusto Pinochet in the case of nine dissidents who disappeared during his dictatorship, but the general remains under house arrest as another court reviews the decision.

Chile’s Supreme Court today stripped former dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, allowing a trial against him for his alleged responsibility in the killing and disappearance of 15 dissidents during his 1973-90 regime.