Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet was served with an arrest order today on murder and kidnapping charges at his rural retreat southwest of Santiago, witnesses said.
85-year-old Pinochet, who ruled Chile with an iron fist from 1973 to 1990, was ordered arrested and officially informed of the charges stemming from a 1973 military campaign to wipe out opposition to his rule.
The arrest warrant was delivered to Pinochet in person by a clerk working for investigating Judge Juan Guzman, accompanied by a police escort, at the ex-dictator's residence.
Retired general Luis Cortes Villa, who heads the Pinochet Foundation grouping backers of the ex-dictator, confirmed that Pinochet had received the arrest order.
"This is the saddest and most painful moment that we can possibly have to live through," he said, speaking to journalists at the residence. "We were unable to protect the general."
Judge Guzman ruled on Monday that Pinochet should be put under house arrest while awaiting trial.
He must answer charges of masterminding the killings and abductions of 75 political prisoners in the first weeks after his rise to power in a September 1973 coup.
Pinochet faces a total of 217 complaints concerning human rights abuses during his rule, the latest of which were filed Tuesday.
AFP