Pinochet

LONDON (CNN) -- A British newspaper is reporting that former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was invited to visit London by the British defense ministry before his arrest October 16.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that before Pinochet's visit, Chile's military attaché sought and received assurances from both the defense and foreign ministries that Pinochet would not be detained if he came to Britain, as he later was.

The defense ministry had invited a Chilean delegation to Britain to buy military engineering equipment, paid for their airfare and arranged their itinerary. Pinochet was part of the delegation, although a spokesman for the defense ministry told the Telegraph that British officials "did not regard General Pinochet as the head of the delegation."

Pinochet was detained by British police on charges of genocide brought by Spanish judges who are pursuing Pinochet's extradition. The charges stem from the disappearances of Spanish citizens during Pinochet's rule.

Wednesday, England's High Court threw out the Spanish warrants seeking Pinochet's extradition, ruling he was immune from prosecution as a former head of state. That ruling will be appealed to a five-judge panel at the House of Lords, the highest court in the land.

In the meantime, Pinochet has been granted conditional bail by a British judge, though he cannot leave the country until the appeal is settled.

Belgian suit alleges crimes against humanity

On Saturday, six Chilean citizens in Brussels filed lawsuits with a Belgian court against Pinochet, alleging crimes against humanity.

"Mothers are still crying for their lost children," said Rosario Lilian Aguilar Diaz, who says her husband was killed during the Pinochet years. "Not having seen the corpse of your own husband, brother or child is one of the most horrible things that could happen to you."

Lawyers in Britain, Italy, France, Sweden and Luxembourg are also pursuing cases against Pinochet.

In London, Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart, held a brief news conference Saturday. She said she hoped the general, who underwent spinal surgery while in London and is still recovering at a clinic, would be able to return soon to Chile.

"The health of my husband is recovering very slowly because of the situation he is in," a frail-looking Hiriart said.

Hiriart, who refused to discuss her husband's legal situation, told reporters, "I feel very weak physically and mentally.

"The last few days have been very sad for me. Even my own health physically and mentally has been damaged," she said in Spanish.

She was quoted Friday in a Chilean newspaper as asking that "pressure be made through the governments of the world so he can be released.... Humanitarian reasons should take precedence over anything else."

Spanish court OKs extradition pursuit

In an historic ruling Friday, an 11-member panel of senior Spanish judges ruled unanimously Friday that Spain had the right to bring criminal charges against Pinochet and seek his extradition from Britain. The panel deliberated for more than five hours.

The National Court's decision was greeted with cheers of joy from human rights lawyers and relatives of junta victims who had gathered at the court in downtown Madrid.

"It's an immense homage to the disappeared of Chile and Argentina," said Carlos Slepoy, a lawyer representing families of Argentine victims. "From a legal point of view, it's a landmark decision."

The National Court didn't give the reasons for its ruling but said a full text would be released next week.

The Spanish ruling allows Judge Baltasar Garzon to continue his investigations into whether Pinochet committed genocide, terrorism and torture during his military dictatorship between 1973 and 1990.

A ruling to the contrary would have ended Garzon's drive to extradite Pinochet from Britain.

Garzon plans to file a formal request next week for Pinochet's extradition, said Virginia Diez, part of a team of private human rights lawyers who have worked closely with Garzon in the Pinochet case.

It must first be approved by the government of center-right Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, which is eager to protect trade ties with Chile and has frowned on Garzon's probe.

However, Aznar and other Spanish government officials have said they wouldn't block a request for Pinochet's extradition.

The National Court ruling Friday was in response to appeals filed in May by prosecutors at the same court who said Garzon lacked jurisdiction in Latin America to probe crimes committed against Spain.

Garzon also has issued arrest warrants against former Argentine military leaders Leopoldo Galtieri and Jorge Videla, accused of the murders of hundreds of Spaniards in the 1970s and 1980s.

France to investigate

France on Friday became the latest European country to open an investigation into alleged atrocities by Pinochet, judicial officials said.

Prosecutors were investigating charges by French families of missing Chileans that Pinochet was linked to their loved ones' "sequestration followed by torture," the officials said. The probe, launched Friday, will determine whether enough evidence and legal grounds exist to prosecute Pinochet on French soil.

Reuters contributed to this report.