Pinochet could be sued now!

FILE--Former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet is shown in this March 10, 1998 file photo. Chile's Supreme Court on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000, has stripped Pinochet's immunity, clearing the way for the former dictator to be tried on human rights abuses. (AP Photo)

SANTIAGO (AP) - Calling the Supreme Court ruling that stripped Gen. Augusto Pinochet of his immunity unfair and politically motivated, relatives and lawyers of the former dictator vowed to fight in court "to demonstrate his innocence."

The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that it voted 14-6 to remove Pinochet's congressional immunity, thus allowing his trial on human rights charges.

Pinochet, wearing a dark blue overcoat, made a brief, surprise appearance at dusk at the front door of the residence to acknowledge the cheers and applause of scores of supporters. Photographers and reporters were kept at distance. He had not appeared in public since attending funeral services for a former aide on Jul. 16.

The 84-year-old retired general was reported to have reacted calmly as military commanders, former aides and relatives expressed solidarity at his heavily guarded suburban Santiago residence.

"He is calm, because he has his conscience completely clean," Pinochet's daugher Jacqueline said, calling the Supreme Court ruling "a shame, a Roman Circus they are giving the people because the economy is doing poorly."

In a radio interview, she said that when her father learned of the ruling, he replied: "Well, it's not the end of the world, Nobody has died."

"We will now fight in court to defend him, to demonstrate his innocence," she added.

Chief Justice Hernan Alvarez - one of six judges who opposed the lifting of Pinochet's immunity - denied there had been any political interference on the court.

Pinochet's son Marco Antonio called the ruling politically motivated "from the beginning," and vowed a strong fight in court.

If a trial begins, "My father will almost certainly not see its end, but I will fight all the way," he said

He rejected suggestions that Pinochet could be exempted from trial on health grounds, "because that would prevent him from defending himself of all those big lies."

"I will not accept that!" the son told reporters. "What we will do is to demonstrate his total innocence."

Pro-Pinochet legislators announced a bill to try to block a trial on grounds of Pinochet's poor health. He suffers from diabetes, uses a pacemaker and has had three mild strokes.

Judge Juan Guzman, who is handling 157 criminal complaints against Pinochet and requested the lifting of his immunity, said he expects the family will eventually agree to medical tests for Pinochet, "which are mandatory."

Guzman did not elaborate on his plans. The entire situation, including whether and when to try Pinochet, now depends on him.

Gustavo Collao, a member of Pinochets legal defense team, said they are prepared to "demonstrate the general's total innocence of the false charges against him."

Ricardo Rivadeneira, who argued on behalf of Pinochet before the court, called the ruling "a personal defeat," but offered to "resume efforts to prove his innocence."

A dejected supporter of Gen. Augusto Pinochet holds a portrait of the formwe dictator at Pinochet's Foundation in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, August 8, 2000. Chile's Supreme Court stripped Pinochet's immunity, clearing the way for the former dictator to be tried on human rights charges, the court said Tuesday. (AP Photo)

The ruling triggered the usual expressions of joy and celebration among Pinochet foes, mostly relatives of victims of repression during his 1973-90 regime. His followers reacted with anger and frustration. The rival demonstrations were peaceful.

The government urged both sides to maintain calm, saying the ruling "shows the full independence of the courts and the fact that everybody in Chile is equal before the law."

"Our obligation is to respect what the courts decide," President Ricardo Lagos said.

Prospects of an early trial appear slim, possibilities of a sentencing even more remote.

Eduardo Contreras, a lawyer who filed the first complaint against Pinochet, said a Pinochet trial could take "up to eight years."

A government report says 3,197 people died or disappeared at the hands of Pinochet's secret police after he toppled the country's elected Marxist president Salvador Allende in a 1973 coup.

Efforts to prosecute Pinochet center on the so-called "caravan of death," a military squad that executed 72 political prisoners after the coup.

In its 49-page ruling, the court said Pinochet should respond as to whether he gave authority to the members of the caravan, as the plaintiffs alleged.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs were busy analyzing the text before deciding on their strategy.