Spain Courts

The Spanish government said it had sent to Britain a judge's request that Gen. Augusto Pinochet, 84, undergo new medical tests to determine whether he is truly unfit to stand trial for human rights crimes during his 1973-90 Chilean dictatorship. Judge Baltasar Garzon secured Pinochet's arrest in London in 1998 in an effort to extradite him to Spain for trial. British Home Secretary Jack Straw said last week that he was inclined to send Pinochet home on the basis of the independent tests.

Spain's most famous judge, heralded abroad for seeking to put dictators behind bars, was found guilty Thursday of overstepping his authority in a corruption investigation here. Baltasar Garzon won global fame for indicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998. He's been dubbed a "dictator hunter" abroad for championing the principle of universal jurisdiction, the idea that some crimes are so heinous that they deserve to be investigated, no matter where or when. But his crusade hit a snag Thursday in Spain.

Los Angeles Chileans who suffered abuses under military rule cheered the British court ruling Wednesday that former dictator Augusto Pinochet is not immune from prosecution for human rights atrocities, but were disappointed by the limitations it imposed on the bid to extradite him to Spain.

Units of Hollywood's major studios were fined 2.4 million euros ($3.1 million) each by Spain's competition court after a three-year inquiry into allegations of price fixing and other unfair trade practices. The Spanish units of Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment, News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, United International Pictures and Time Warner Inc.

When Francisco Letelier came to Washington, he thought his family was finally safe from the soldiers who ousted Chile's democratic government and held his father at a bleak island prison. That assurance vanished in 1976, when he was pulled out of high school to find that his father, Chilean pro-democracy exile leader Orlando Letelier, was killed a mile from the White House by a car bomb. An American colleague, Ronni Moffitt, died with him.

After nearly a year of legal battles and house arrest for Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator's extradition hearing began here Monday with an attorney for Spain charging that the case presented "some of the most serious allegations of crime ever to come before English criminal courts."

A British court Monday rejected last-ditch attempts by six human rights groups and the Belgian government to block the release of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, removing one of the last legal obstacles to his return to Chile. A London High Court judge denied both petitions for a judicial review of the British government's proposal to free the 84-year-old Pinochet on humanitarian grounds. Home Secretary Jack Straw announced Jan.

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet underwent an independent medical examination to determine his fitness to stand trial in Spain on charges of human rights abuses. Pinochet, 84, spent nearly seven hours at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, north of London, and left without comment. "The full results will not be known for two to three days," a hospital spokesman said. Pinochet's supporters have long said his health is too poor to withstand the rigors of a trial.

Nike Loses Court Battle: The U.S. sportswear company lost a court battle over use of its emblem in Spain, and the decision bars its sponsored athletes from wearing the logo at the Olympic Games, the Financial Times in London reported. The paper said Spain's constitutional court ruled Nike cannot advertise its clothes in Spain and that its sponsored athletes may not wear the Nike logo. The case was brought by two Spaniards who say they had the Nike name and an emblem similar to that of the U.S.

Nike Triumphs in Trademark Dispute: A Spanish court ruled in favor of the athletic apparel maker in a dispute it had with a lawyer who claimed he owned the Nike name. The ruling lifts an injunction that had prevented Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike Inc. from selling its apparel in Spain since March, 1991.

Vladimir A. Gusinsky, the Russian media magnate battling extradition to his homeland to face criminal charges, flew to Israel from Spain, an associate said Wednesday. In Moscow, Russian prosecutors vowed that Gusinsky would have to "run like a hare" to avoid extradition on new money-laundering charges, despite a Spanish court's rejection of an earlier extradition request last week.

Spain's high court refused to extradite Vladimir A. Gusinsky to Russia to face fraud charges, a victory for the media mogul, who says the Kremlin is trying to silence critical news coverage. Russia has charged Gusinsky with misrepresenting the assets of his Media-Most empire to obtain a loan from the largely state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom.

Lawyers for Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu on Thursday defended her attempt to have three former dictators tried in Spain for racial genocide against Guatemala's indigenous Maya population. Spain's High Court previously ruled that it had grounds to prosecute former Chilean ruler Augusto Pinochet and Argentina's ex-military leaders on similar charges, and Menchu said the same rules apply because genocide is a "universal crime."

A British court Monday rejected last-ditch attempts by six human rights groups and the Belgian government to block the release of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, removing one of the last legal obstacles to his return to Chile. A London High Court judge denied both petitions for a judicial review of the British government's proposal to free the 84-year-old Pinochet on humanitarian grounds. Home Secretary Jack Straw announced Jan.

The Spanish government said it had sent to Britain a judge's request that Gen. Augusto Pinochet, 84, undergo new medical tests to determine whether he is truly unfit to stand trial for human rights crimes during his 1973-90 Chilean dictatorship. Judge Baltasar Garzon secured Pinochet's arrest in London in 1998 in an effort to extradite him to Spain for trial. British Home Secretary Jack Straw said last week that he was inclined to send Pinochet home on the basis of the independent tests.

The Spanish judge pursuing Gen. Augusto Pinochet asked Friday for a fresh medical exam to determine if the former Chilean dictator is mentally fit to stand trial. The petition came three days after doctors in Britain said that Pinochet, 84, is too physically ill for trial. British officials gave other countries involved in the case a week to submit responses.

Lawyers for Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu on Thursday defended her attempt to have three former dictators tried in Spain for racial genocide against Guatemala's indigenous Maya population. Spain's High Court previously ruled that it had grounds to prosecute former Chilean ruler Augusto Pinochet and Argentina's ex-military leaders on similar charges, and Menchu said the same rules apply because genocide is a "universal crime."

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet underwent an independent medical examination to determine his fitness to stand trial in Spain on charges of human rights abuses. Pinochet, 84, spent nearly seven hours at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, north of London, and left without comment. "The full results will not be known for two to three days," a hospital spokesman said. Pinochet's supporters have long said his health is too poor to withstand the rigors of a trial.