The former Chilean dictator August Pinochet was freed by British authorities after more than 500 days under house arrest because of a secret accord, according to a new book quoted on Sunday by The Observer newspaper.
The claim is made in a book entitled "Augusto Pinochet: 503 days trapped in London," by Chilean television reporter Monica Perez and Felipe Gertdtzen, a son-in-law of former Chilean president Eduardo Frei.
They say the plan to free Pinochet was established following a telephone conversation in mid 1999 between Frei and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and that top Spanish officials were also involved.
Pinochet was detained on October 16, 1998 in London by officials acting on an arrest warrant by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, who sought to try him for crimes against humanity.
He was held in Britain until March 2, 2000 while a series of courts debated whether he should be extradited.
British Home Secretary Jack Straw eventually decided to let Pinochet return home after two medical examinations declared he was too frail to stand trial.
But attempts to solve the judicial conundrum had included talks in Rio de Janeiro, New Zealand, and New York between British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his then Chilean counterpart Juan Gabriel Valdes, the report said.
Blair, under pressure from Frei to get the former dictator released back to Chile on humanitarian grounds -- he had undergone back surgery in Britain -- allegedly suggested establishing a "back channel" between the two capitals.
Frei's press attache Cristian Tolosa and Jonathan Powell, an assistant to Blair, were reportedly charged with secret contacts, and Tolosa made six visits to London in the second half of 1999, the newspaper said.
On Saturday, Blair's office declined to comment to The Observer on contacts between officials.
Valdes also reportedly met then Spanish foreign minister Abel Matutes at the Rio summit of European Union and Latin American leaders, which led to a plan under which Madrid officials refused to pass Garzon's instructions on to British judicial officials.
Matutes was taken to court in Madrid last February for his actions, The Observer said.
It added that Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar have a "close relationship," noting their wives have taken vacations in Spain together twice since April 1998.
"The freeing of Pinochet was a political decision taken by the British government," the newspaper quoted leading Chilean human rights lawyer Hernan Montealegre as saying on Saturday.
He added that the medical report which Straw used to justify the former dictator's release would not have held up in court -- LONDON (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
