Pinochet in hospital after stroke

Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet has been admitted to hospital after suffering a stroke. It comes as an appeals court is determining whether to uphold his indictment and house arrest on human rights charges.

Pinochet was rushed to Santiago’s Army Hospital yesterday morning after “he felt bad during breakfast – as if he would faint”, said his spokesman, retired General Guillermo Garin.

Hospital officials said he suffered a stroke along with “impaired mobility and a neurological deficit”.

He is in stable condition and was expected to at least make a partial recovery.

Pinochet suffers from mild dementia, diabetes, arthritis and has a pacemaker. He has suffered several minor strokes in recent years and has been repeatedly hospitalised.

On Friday the Santiago Court of Appeals delayed until next week a decision on whether to uphold his indictment and house arrest for the alleged kidnapping of nine dissidents and the killing of one of them during his 1973-90 military regime. The indictment and house arrest order were issued by Judge Juan Guzman.

It is unclear how this health complication will affect the trial. But his health problems rescued him from trial three years ago on other charges.

A few minutes after Pinochet’s heavily guarded motorcade entered the hospital in the capital’s Providencia district, his wife, Lucia Hiriart, and General Emilio Cheyre, the army commander, were seen entering. Several other relatives also visited.

Pinochet had an unusually active day on Friday. He came to Santiago from Los Boldos, his countryside residence 80 miles southwest of the capital, where he would serve out his house arrest if the court upholds Guzman’s orders.

In Santiago, he visited his office, then went to the dentist and later met with some supporters.