Pinochet has been told by the Appeal court to have his fingerprints and mug shot taken. Brilliant.   It is a normal (and therefore in this case a symbolic) order for all accused criminals in Chile. It is extremely important that the defence lawyers for Pinochet do not stop this. They will try to appeal the latest decision. 

The lawyers have appealed every single decision made by the courts and have been making a mockery of the centre left politicians claim that when Pincochet comes back to chile he will be put on trial. Just to remind you he`s been back since March 2000. The fact is he is a criminal and should be treated as such. If it is postponed ( the lawyers argue he is too ill to have it done) it will set a very dangerous precedent i.e. yet again he will be treated differently from all other criminals and maybe it will strengthen the line of the defence that argues that his health is too bad for him to be put to trial at any time in the future. In effect he will get round the current legal situation that says he cant hide behind his life time senator status to avoi going to trial. 

The govt  Concertacion alliance led by President Lagos has continued to state that it`s up to the courts to do their work but there are political influences on the courts and while the world keeps quiet the presi and other govt politicians will not put any pressure on the courts. Please send emails to the president and remind him how long the relatives of the disappeared, the murdered, the tortured and the 000's of exiles have waited for justice. Please tell as many others round the orld Please move fast Please move fast the presis website and the way you send emails to him is on www.presidencia.cl