Pinochet hospitalized after mini-stroke

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Former dictator Augusto Pinochet of Chile, who faces a court investigation for possible crimes related to his multimillion-dollar secret bank accounts, suffered a mini-stroke yesterday and was rushed to the hospital.

''General Pinochet is hospitalized in the intensive care unit. He suffered an ischemic attack [mini-stroke] like he has before," army chief General Emilio Cheyre told reporters.

Pinochet, 89, has suffered similar health problems, shocking his supporters but also helping to deflect human rights charges stemming from his 1973-1990 rule because his lawyers argue that he has mild dementia caused by frequent mini-strokes.

Earlier a family friend described the stroke as serious, but Pinochet Foundation director Luis Cortes said outside the hospital that Pinochet was conscious and not in critical condition.

About 3,000 people died in political violence during the Pinochet regime and tens of thousands were tortured and driven into exile as the military and secret police went after dissidents and opponents.

Pinochet has been accused of hundreds of human rights abuses during his rule but has never been convicted.

Chile's Supreme Court has twice upheld lower court decisions that Pinochet should be stripped of immunity to be charged in rights crimes, but the case that got the farthest was thrown out when his defense argued that his mild dementia made him unfit to defend himself.

On several occasions Pinochet's medical emergencies have coincided with key court dates.