Seized in London while recuperating from back surgery, the general fought a 16-month legal battle, successfully fending off a Spanish judge's extradition request on torture charges. British doctors declared Pinochet unfit for trial and he returned home March 3. This entire process has set a string of important precedents both for international law and the principle that no one is above the law. Now 84, Pinochet suffers from diabetes, uses a pacemaker and had three mild strokes in London. His lawyer, Ricardo Rivadeneira, told Chile's Supreme Court that Pinochet is in such poor health he cannot organize a proper defense.
Chile normally exempts suspects from criminal proceedings only for insanity or dementia.
It is unclear if the 20 justices will first order medical tests to determine whether he is fit to stand trial, or immediately rule whether he could be tried. Families of the victims insist trying Pinochet is the only way to attain justice. The state has not yet confronted the central issue. His father, Hector Mario Silva Iriarte, was among 16 killed in Antofogasta on Oct. 19, 1973. A socialist in the Allende government, he surrendered to military authorities and was jailed.