Pinochet to be tried on human rights abuses

The Chilean appeals court has ruled Augusto Pinochet must stand trial on human rights charges.

The court in Santiago, however, ruled 2-1 to throw out murder and kidnapping charges against the former Chilean dictator.

Pinochet was indicted and placed under house arrest on January 29 on charges stemming from the Caravan of Death, one of the most notorious cases of human rights abuses during his 1973-90 dictatorship.

The caravan was a military group that executed 75 political prisoners shortly after the 1973 coup led by Pinochet. The remains of 18 of the victims were never recovered.

Pinochet's lawyers appealed, calling the homicide and kidnapping charges against him "arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional".