Relatives of a retired general convicted of killings committed under Chile's former dictatorship accused the courts Wednesday of acting vindictively by jailing him at the age of 91.

Hector Orosco's lawyers say he has senile dementia but the country's Supreme Court nevertheless handed him a 10-year custodial sentence.

It convicted him last month for the execution of two dissident leftist leaders in 1973, at the start of Augusto Pinochet's 17-year dictatorship.

Police arrested Orosco this week after he declined to turn up to serve his sentence, and took him to Punta Peuco prison in the north of the capital.

Judge Jaime Arancibia ruled that Orosco "is lucid and can be taken in to serve the sentence in normal conditions," the courts service said in a report Wednesday.

"Next they'll be stripping him naked to humiliate him more," complained the ex-general's brother, Rene Orosco.

"This is not justice, it is vengeance."

Orosco is one of numerous officials convicted of atrocities during the dictatorship.

Overall some 3,200 people were confirmed killed or went missing under Pinochet.

"The country can open a conversation about this, but the government will not change its position on the matter," said government spokeswoman Paula Narvaez, referring to Orosco's case.

"We need to move forward in truth and justice."

Tweet

Kremlin says 'contradictory' reports on Baghdadi death
Moscow (AFP) July 17, 2017
Moscow on Monday said it was struggling to confirm if the leader of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead or alive, a month after reporting his possible demise. The Russian army said in June that it was trying to verify information that its jets killed Baghdadi during a bombing raid near the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria. But over a month after the announcement Kremlin s ... read more

Related Links
The Long War - Doctrine and Application

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only