Pinochet given bail

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.

Judge Victor Montiglio set bail at 10 million pesos, but said the Santiago Court of Appeals must uphold his decision before Pinochet can end his six-week long house arrest.

Pinochet, 90, has remained under arrest at his guarded suburban Santiago mansion since Novenber 24.

Pinochet is being held on charges stemming from Operation Colombo, in which 119 people were killed - their bodies never found - in 1975, two years after Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup.

The Pinochet regime at the time claimed the victims have died in clashes among rival armed opposition groups.

Montiglio first indicted Pinochet for three of the disappearances and then added the other six.

The cases are handled separately because they stem from suits filed separately by relatives of the victims.

Before Montiglio can proceed with a trial of Pinochet, however, the Supreme Court must rule on an appeal filed by the former dictator’s lawyer, Pablo Rodriguez, denying the charges and insisting Pinochet’s deteriorated health makes him unfit to stand trial.

The top court has already blocked efforts to try Pinochet four times, saying his health does not allow him to stand trial.

Montiglio’s decision was rare good news recently for Pinochet in his long fight in court marked by a series of setbacks.

Pinochet, who ruled until 1990, also faces tax evasion charges related to secret overseas bank accounts, estimated by a judicial investigation to hold 28 million dollars.

He is also under indictment for allegedly diverting two million dollars in public fund to his private accounts while in power.

In addition, he was stripped of the legal immunity he enjoys as former president in another human rights and a corruption case in which new indictments are considered likely. A person with legal immunity must be stripped of it separately in each case.

Pinochet suffers from a mild dementia, has had several strokes, has diabetes and arthritis and a pacemaker.

But a team of court-appointed doctors who examined Pinochet in October said his health problems were not serious enough to prevent his trial.