'I Am Not a Criminal'.(Augusto Pinochet's medical condition and disputes over doctors' findings may mean he will stand trial for atrocities)(Brief Article)

Augusto Pinochet appeared a harmless senior citizen when aides wheeled him out of Santiago's military hospital a few weeks ago. The white- haired former dictator grinned broadly before disappearing into an armored Mercedes. He had reason to be cheery: Pinochet, 85, had just finished four days of medical tests that supporters believed would show him to be mentally unfit to stand trial for egregious human-rights violations committed during his 17-year reign. That would put an end to the legal woes and controversy that have dogged him for almost three years. Under Chilean law, it is illegal to prosecute a defendant doctors determine to be insane or demented.

But any thought that the old man could retire in peace proved premature. Last week eight doctors enlisted by Chilean courts to examine Pinochet produced a report declaring that he had "moderate dementia"--an evaluation that would likely mean he would avoid trial. But one of the medical experts, Canadian neurologist Luis Fornazzari, refused to sign the report. Instead, Fornazzari accused his colleagues of "changing the diagnosis without telling me." The original diagnosis, he claimed, said that Pinochet suffered only "mild to moderate dementia." "There is no question at all that he is fit to stand trial," Fornazzari told NEWSWEEK. Justice Minister Jose Antonio Gomez, hearing that Fornazzari had written a letter of complaint to the magistrate investigating Pinochet, called the doctor "irresponsible." Though a decision could come any day, the controversy appears to have delayed Judge Juan Guzman's ruling on whether Pinochet is healthy enough to stand trial.

It was the beginning of what would turn out to be a very bad week for the former strongman. Tuesday morning, Pinochet was forced to answer questions about his role in atrocities committed during his regime. For two hours the judge interrogated him at his secluded Santiago mansion about the notorious 1973 disappearances and murders of 75 suspected political opponents. (A court ruled in December that Guzman must depose Pinochet before he can officially indict him.) Dubbed the "Caravan of Death," the killings were carried out by the military in the weeks immediately following the coup that brought Pinochet to power. In the questioning, Pinochet admitted that the military committed the murders, but said he was not personally responsible. "I am not in any way a criminal," he said. "I in no moment ordered the killing of anybody." After the interview was released by the court, a Pinochet-era general, Joaquin Lagos, appeared on television to ...