Britain and Chile yesterday denied they had struck a deal to release the former dictator, Gen Augusto Pinochet, from custody in exchange for a guarantee that he would face trial in Chile. Their denials followed reports in two Sunday newspapers that an agreement had been reached.
"There is no deal," said a British government spokesman. "The position is unchanged from last week. [The Home Secretary] Jack Straw will make the decision in a quasi-judicial capacity. It is about extradition to Spain and he has always made clear it is not a political decision."
Chile's Foreign Minister, Mr Jose Miguel Insulza, also denied that he was negotiating a deal. "I wouldn't say that we were making any deals or we're going through any negotiations. Actually we have not had negotiations saying give him back to us and we will try him," he told BBC television.
Mr Insulza was in Britain to try and secure the release of Gen Pinochet (83), who was arrested in London on October 16th following a request from two Spanish judges who want him to face charges of murder, torture and genocide.
Today the Foreign Minister travels on to Spain to plead the cause of leniency for Gen Pinochet with the Spanish authorities. on.
Gen Pinochet He was granted bail on November 17th on condition he remained under police guard and is currently at a north London clinic where he is recovering from back surgery. Britain's Law Lords, constituting the state's highest court, ruled on Wednesday that the general Pinochet was not immune from prosecution, opening up the prospect that he could be extradited.
Mr Straw must decide by December 11th whether the extradition process can continue.
Police sources said he may be moved early this week and media reports speculated that he would go to a hotel near London's Heathrow airport, then onto the Wentworth estate in the rural county of Surrey, outside London, later in the week. Although he denied a deal was in the making, Mr Insulza said a trial in Chile offered the best hope of justice.
A relatives of Gen Pinochet said he is very depressed by his legal battles and would rather kill himself than be sent to Spain to face trial, the Mirror newspaper reports today. It says the general is not optimistic that Britain will block Spain's request for extradition. "He would rather kill himself or be killed by his guards than face the humiliation and indignity of being sent to face trial in Spain," the Mirror quotes Mr Rafael Pinochet Savedra (52), a nephew, as saying.