PINOCHET
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP):
A CHILEAN court granted bail to the oldest daughter of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet yesterday, ending her two-day arrest after returning home from the United States to face tax evasion and false passport charges.
Lucia Pinochet's lawyer, Hugo Ortiz, said a Santiago Court of Appeals panel of three voted unanimously to release her on bail, upholding a resolution by Judge Carlos Cerda who filed the charges against her and other family members.
Bail was set at 3 million pesos (US$5,600; euro4,700).
Lucia Pinochet left Chile January 22 and flew to Washington via Argentina after failing to obey a subpoena by Cerda.
Upon arrival in Washington on January 25, she was held on an arrest warrant issued by Chile. She requested political asylum, but on January 27, she dropped the request and agreed to return to Chile and face the charges.
Also charged in the case are her mother, also named Lucia, sisters Veronica and Jacqueline and brother Marco Antonio. All the relatives appeared before court officials and are free on bail.
The former dictator, who had also been indicted earlier on tax evasion charges, also faces charges for the human rights violations during his 1973-90 dictatorship.
Previous attempts to bring him to trial have been blocked by the Supreme Court for health reasons. He has been diagnosed with mild dementia, suffers from diabetes and arthritis and has a pacemaker. But court-appointed doctors who examined him three months ago determined that he was fit to stand trial.
