MADRID — Nearly 15 years after the death of the former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, victims of his brutal regime are still trying to hold him and his associates accountable. And now the victims appear to be one step closer to justice — even if the courtroom is on the other side of the world. This month, the Supreme Court of Chile was notified by the National Court of Spain that an investigation had been reopened in Madrid into whether a bank, Banco de Chile, helped General Pinochet and his associates launder millions of dollars overseas, according to court documents sent to the lawyers in the dispute. The plaintiffs are led by the President Allende Foundation and represent more than 20,000 victims of the Pinochet dictatorship. Spain was chosen for the legal case because it has pioneered efforts over the past three decades to hold autocrats worldwide accountable for their crimes in jurisdictions other than their own countries.

Source: International New York Times July 30, 2021 16:29 UTC