So Augusto Pinochet has finally, finally kicked the bucket. Good riddance. But it is a shame that he will never be brought to justice, properly.

Pinochet was the dictator who took over Chile by military coup on 11 September 1973 – the original “September 11”. During his 17 year dictatorship, the general oversaw massive repression: thousands of dissenters were tortured and killed; thousands simply disappeared, never to be seen again. (And then there’s the small question of around 27 million US dollars that went awol).

When a form of democracy finally returned to Chile around 1990, there were no repercussions for Pinochet – a condition of his relinquishing power was that he would be granted impunity.

In the late 1990s Spanish court ruled that he could be tried here – but of course that required him coming into the country, something that, surprisingly, he wasn’t too keen on doing. When he visited London for an operation, the English courts attempted to start the judicial process, but he was saved from facing a proper trial by his own poor health.

Rupert Cornwell has a good, brief, discussion on this topic in the Independent. But I disagree that Pinochet’s pathetic, sick puttering out compensates in any way for the lack of trial. Chile has been through a post-dictatorship Truth and Reconciliation process, but Pinochet was never properly tried or made to answer for his actions. That isn’t fair.

Other posts by Katie Llanos-Small