An appeals court on Wednesday granted bail to former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, under house arrest since his Oct. 30 arrest on charges of torture and murder following his 1973 coup, according to Reuters. Bail was set by the Santiago appeals court at 500,000 pesos, or just under $1,000, court sources said. Pinochet has been arrested five times on rights abuses since 1998, and has also faced tax fraud charges. In each case, he was released on grounds of poor health, or because bail was granted. The arrest last month, which also included charges of kidnapping, was the first where he was charged with torture and came after an investigation of rights abuses at Villa Grimaldi, an infamous detention center run by the regime's secret police. Thousands were tortured at Villa Grimaldi between 1974 and 1977, including Michelle Bachelet, Chile's current president. Earlier on Wednesday, an appeals court stripped Pinochet of immunity in relation to the kidnapping and disappearance of a Spanish priest in 1974. Pinochet turns 91 on Nov. 25.
