Judge Sets Date To Quiz Pinochet

The judge handling the case against Gen. Augusto Pinochet on Monday set Oct. 9 as the date to question the former Chilean dictator and decide whether he will be tried on human rights violations.

But Judge Juan Guzman did not immediately specify where and how the hearing will take place. As a retired army general, Pinochet has the right to respond to questioning in writing.

Guzman has said he would rather interrogate the embattled 84-year-old former ruler in person. If Pinochet agrees, the questioning could take place at his house, or at a military facility, such as the army hospital.

According to a government report, 3,197 people were killed or disappeared for political reasons during the Pinochet years.

Earlier this month the Supreme Court, at Guzman's request, stripped Pinochet of the immunity he enjoyed as a senator-for-life -- a post he created for himself in the constitution written by his 1973-90 regime.

Guzman is handling 165 criminal complaints against Pinochet, the latest of which was filed Monday by the National Association of Social Workers for the deaths of two members.

Guzman wants to try Pinochet in one of the earliest criminal complaints, one involving "the caravan of death," a military squad that summarily executed 72 political prisoners shortly after the U.S.-backed 1973 coup.

He still faces legal hurdles before trying Pinochet, including a required mental exam. Chilean law exempts from trial only those that are pronounced mad or demented. Pinochet's relatives and associates have insisted he will not sit the exam.

Pablo Rodriguez, Pinochet's lawyer, said a mental exam "would stain his image before history."

Guzman declined to detail how he will respond to Pinochet's refusal to sit for the tests.

In March, Pinochet returned to Chile after 503 days under house arrest in Britain. He avoided extradition to Spain -- where a judge had wanted to try him on torture charges -- on the grounds that he was too ill to stand trial.

His detention in Britain was seen by many in Chile as dispelling an idea that Pinochet was untouchable.

Guzman will also travel to Buenos Aires in September to meet with Argentine Judge Maria Servini de Cubria to gather information about "Operation Condor," an alleged conspiracy among South American dictators to kill leftist leaders.