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Spanish judge wants to see Pinochet prosecuted in death

14:48 H | Topics: Chile - Justice - Spain

As many in Chile breathe a collective sigh of relief as the country assimilates the death of ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet, the Spanish judge who fought so hard to prosecute him in life says the struggle to get him found guilty for atrocities committed during his regime must go on. Judge Baltasar Garzón, known throughout the world for his work to extradite Pinochet to Spain to face charges that he murdered Spanish citizens, as well as other high-profile cases (including his attempt to investigate Henry Kissinger in relation to Operation Condor), says justice was too slow:

Garzón lamented that the dictator died without having been judged "because of the slowness of justice," and at the same time recommended that trials must be carried out to the end. For the judge, "the trials in Chile must continue.

The Spanish judge regrets that although in the last 10 years "there has been important progress" in Chileans courts, the justice system still was incapable of trying the dictator.

Spanish Exterior Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos also lamented that Pinochet wasn't tried during his lifetime, saying, "that history will be who judges him and history will dictate its sentence."

On a related note, Spain's 20 Minutos has assembled two interesting features that remind us of who Pinochet was and what his government stood for. The first is a collection of videos from YouTube which chronicle the beginning, height and decline of his regime, then the years up until his death. The other is a collection of controversial quotes from Pinochet, among which stand out the following:

On Human Rights:

"Look, how very economical..." (upon discovering two or three bodies in one grave).

"I don't know this thing called human rights. What is it?"

"Between securing the rights of 10,000 dissidents or guaranteeing the rights of 10 million people, we had no doubt about it."

On Fidel Castro:

"A man with a lot of charisma. Fidel Castro is valiant. A politician with an iron fist. Strength sustains him. He shot his own close friend. I would have given him life in prison or expelled him from the country, but he shot him."

20 Minutos also collected reactions from Chileans in Spain (seen in Madrid in the photo above), many of whom celebrated in the streets with champagne and shouts of "Viva Chile".

Via / 20 Minutos

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