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.

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