智利前独裁者奥格斯托·皮诺切特近日被指控在其执政期间曾绑架九名政见相左者并杀害了其中一人。目前智利法庭已宣布对皮诺切特实行（本宅）软禁，但他的辩护律师积极上诉。外电报道如下：A judge has indicted¹ General Augusto Pinochet for the kidnapping of nine dissidents and the killing² of one of them during his 1973-90 military regime, and placed the former dictator under house arrest.

Pinochet's defense³, however, has quickly filed an injunction with the Santiago Court of Appeals, effectively freezing the house arrest order until the court rules on it, probably Tuesday or Wednesday.

"Gen. Pinochet has been declared mentally competent to face a criminal trial in Chile," Judge Juan Guzman ruled, reversing a previous court decision that exempted⁴ Pinochet from trial because of his poor health.

House arrest是一个法律术语，表示“（本宅）软禁”，即囚禁某人于自己的住所，例如：a prisoner under house arrest（被软禁于家中的囚犯）。

皮诺切特在1973-1990年期间担任智利总统，在他执政期间，超过三千人死亡或者神秘失踪，上万人流亡国外。由于涉嫌在执政期间肆意践踏人权，“刽子手”皮诺切特遭到千夫所指，但皮诺切特是终生议员，享有豁免权，因此无法对他进行起诉，正因如此，要求剥夺他豁免权的呼声一直很高。也有一些人对皮诺切特表示支持，称他使智利的经济得到空前的发展。