Brazil & Southern Cone - May 2006 (ISSN 1741-4431)

New developments in the case of the murder of Eugenio Berrí­os, a chemist for the Chilean military whose body was washed up on a beach in Uruguay in 1992, have focused attention on General Augusto Pinochet's personal responsibility for crimes committed by the dictatorship. It also raises questions about the extent of Pinochet's ability to kill inconvenient witnesses even after he was forced to step down as head of state.

On 10 May Pinochet was charged for his role in the Berrí­os affair after being stripped of his immunity. Berrí­os is believed to have developed sarin gas - used to murder opponents of the military regime. Shortly before his death family members said Berrí­os had decided to testify to Chile's courts about his activities while working for the Directorate of National Intelligence (DINA), the Pinochet-era secret police. 

Following Pinochet's orders, Berrí­os was first taken to Argentina. He later fled to Uruguay where he tried to turn himself in to authorities, requesting to be repatriated to Chile and allowed to testify to the courts. Instead, he was turned over to the Uruguay military, shot twice in the head and buried in the sands of El Pinar beach near Montevideo, Uruguay. Three former DINA members were convicted of the kidnapping and murder and three former Uruguayan military officials were extradited to Chile in April to testify in the case. 

The decision to indict Pinochet came after evidence from three Uruguayan military officers who were extradited to Chile on 18 April and have subsequently been prosecuted over the murder. The former dictator already faces charges over the murder of nine political opponents killed in "Operation Colombo" and for having nearly US$27m in secret bank accounts. 

One of the twists in the Berrí­os case is the possibility that the chemist was involved in the mysterious death of President Eduardo Frei, which could have been on the orders of Pinochet.

Pinochet's long drawn out prosecution is symbolic of the current human rights situation in Chile. Accurate details about crimes committed by the dictatorship are now widely available but there are still thousands of perpetrators living freely. 

This has led to frustration within groups who suffered directly at the hands of the regime. They now publicly shame known human rights abusers outside their homes or offices where they inform their neighbours and colleagues about the atrocities they participated in.

One of the principal obstacles to bringing human violators to justice is the Amnesty Law passed in 1978 that prevents the investigation of crimes committed by agents acting on behalf of the state between 1973 and 1978. Human rights lawyers found a way round the law by accusing those responsible for the disappeared of "permanent kidnap", which as a theoretically ongoing crime, can still result in prosecution.

In President Michelle Bachelet's speech to congress on 21 May, she declared her government would continue to look for the remains of the disappeared until the last case was solved. She also announced her government would create a National Institute of Human Rights that will have the mandate to promote and protect human rights in Chile.