Augusto Pinochet - Arrest and Court Cases in Britain

Arrest and Court Cases in Britain

The case was a watershed event in judicial history, as it was the first time that a former government head was arrested on the principle of universal jurisdiction.

After having been placed under house arrest in Britain and initiating a judicial and public relations battle, the latter run by Thatcherite political operative Patrick Robertson, he was eventually released in March 2000 on medical grounds by the Home Secretary Jack Straw without facing trial; Straw had overruled a House of Lords decision to extradite Pinochet.

Read more about this topic:  Augusto Pinochet

Famous quotes containing the words arrest, court, cases and/or britain:

    One does not arrest Voltaire.
    Charles De Gaulle (1890–1970)

    In the court of the movie Owner, none criticized, none doubted. And none dared speak of art. In the Owner’s mind art was a synonym for bankruptcy.... The movie Owners are the only troupe in the history of entertainment that has never been seduced by the adventure of the entertainment world.
    Ben Hecht (1893–1964)

    For the most part, we are not where we are, but in a false position. Through an infirmity of our natures, we suppose a case, and put ourselves into it, and hence are in two cases at the same time, and it is doubly difficult to get out.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    I see no cameras! Where are the cameras?
    Mary, Queen of Great Britain (1867–1953)