(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom correspondence comprehensively reports: San Diego's Appellate Court in Chile upheld a verdict to lift immunity of former president Pinochet. The decision paves the way for bringing Pinochet on trial for human rights crimes during his rule. The ruling sets an example for the ongoing lawsuit against Jiang in Chicago. It shows that the chief of state cannot be immune from prosecution for his individual crimes because of his sovereign status.
BBC reports on May 28, a court in San Diego made a verdict and lifted immunity of former president Pinochet.
The decision paves the way for prosecuting Pinochet for human rights crimes during his 17-year military dictatorship rule.
It is reported, the appeals court voted by 14 to 9 to support depriving former President Pinochet of immunity.
People were surprised at the decision, as the court rejected all the two previous similar requests.
It is reported that after the court's voting result came out, victims' relatives began cheering and crying. They said they had a new hope, as more than 3,000 people opposing his rule were killed during Pinochet's 17-year military dictatorship.
The report introduced that two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Pinochet was unfit to stand trial due to his poor mental health. The verdict seemed to end the judicial dispute over the Pinochet issue, but the situation has changed, and Pinochet will likely stand trial for human rights crimes. His attorney has expressed that he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
According to another report from Clearwisdom Net, on May 27, an initial oral argument was conducted in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in the US on the appeal by Falun Gong practitioners' lawsuit against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin on charges of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity. Falun Gong practitioners' attorney Terri Marsh expressed that it was wrong that the former local court dropped the case on the excuse of sovereign immunity. She stated that being immune doesn't mean being innocent. A chief of state's individual, unofficial crimes that don't represent the government cannot be immune from prosecution because he is the head of state.
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