The new hearing, scheduled for Monday 7 February, will be heard by the

Divisional Court composed of two or three judges. It will provide an

opportunity for further scrutiny of the arguments presented by the human

rights organisations.

'We want to ensure that any decision relating to Augusto Pinochet's

state of health is made according to international standard of fairness and

that it is free from political interference. The lack of transparency that

has characterized this stage of the extradition process raises doubts about

its fairness and about whether the right decision will be made.'

'Since the health of Augusto Pinochet has been put in issue in the

extradition proceedings, fairness requires that the interested parties,

including the states requesting extradition, be given the opportunity to

review the existing medical report and obtain another examination.'

Amnesty International and the other human rights organisations wish to

highlight the interest of the victims and survivors of crimes against

humanity in a just process. The human rights organisations' intervention

would complement the case presented by Belgium, the only one of the four

prosecuting states seeking judicial review.

Amnesty International is also reiterating its appeal to the Spanish

authorities to transmit to the UK authorities the request made by judge

Garz¤n to exhaust all available legal actions relevant to the extradition

process. The Spanish authorities have so far blocked such initiatives by

the Spanish judiciary.

Additional information

The new request for judicial review will be presented by Amnesty

International, the Association of the Relatives of Detained and Disappeared

Persons in Chiles, Human Rights Watch, Justicia, the Medical Foundation for

the Care of the Victims of Torture, and Redress.