Pinochet's death should be 'wake-up call' for authorities: Amnesty

LONDON: The death of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on Sunday should alert Chile's government to seek quick justice in human rights cases, and not to close the probe of the country's "darkest chapter", Amnesty International said.

"General Pinochet's death should be a wake-up call for the authorities in Chile and governments everywhere, reminding them of the importance of speedy justice for human rights crimes, something Pinochet himself has now escaped," a spokeswoman for the London-based human rights group said.   

"His death must not be the end of the story: Amnesty International urges the Chilean authorities to declare the amnesty law void and proceed with investigations and prosecutions of all those others involved in the thousands of cases of 'disappearances', torture and execution during Pinochet's period of rule. Pinochet's death must not close Chile's darkest chapter, one that was marked by gross human rights violations and impunity," she said.   

Pinochet died aged 91, one week after suffering a heart attack. The ailing former strongman was rushed to hospital last Sunday while under house arrest in connection with alleged human rights abuses committed under his 1973-1990 regime.   

An angioplasty cleared a blocked artery that same day, and hospital officials had said he appeared to be improving before they announced his death on Sunday.