Court releases Pinochet from house arrest

On the eve of his 90th birthday, a Chilean court today granted General Augusto Pinochet freedom on bail from the house arrest ordered yesterday by a judge who indicted the former dictator on tax evasion and corruption charges.

The Santiago Court of Appeals also approved a request by Pinochet’s defence lawyers and reduced by half the bail originally set by Judge Carlos Cerda, leaving it at six million pesos (€9,700).