Pinochet probe suspended

A COURT in Chile has suspended a probe into the financial affairs of former leader Augusto Pinochet.

A judge ordered the inquiry after lawyers demanded his assets be seized in case he is ordered to compensate people who suffered during his rule.

Their claims were prompted by a report alleging that General Pinochet hid up to e6m. But the appeals court ruled the same judge has already unsuccessfully tried to put the former military ruler on trial for human rights abuses.

Judge Juan Guzman had been investigating Gen Pinochet’s part in political killings carried out after the 1973 coup. Previous attempts to prosecute him for human rights abuses were dismissed on medical grounds.