MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's Pinochet Enters Hospital.

Chilean former dictator Augusto Pinochet was admitted to a Military Hospital, apparently with “an acute respiratory condition,”, the hospital said

However, hospital sources said Pinochet, who will turn 89 in November, was only suffering from age-related ailments and that his condition is not life-threatening. The deteriorating health of Pinochet, who also suffers from diabetes and has been diagnosed with "vascular dementia," the latter of which has served to shield him from prosecution in rights-abuse cases, is a matter of interest not only to his family, but to judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

Pinochet's immunity from prosecution, a benefit he enjoyed as a former president, was lifted last month by the Supreme Court to allow his prosecution for his part in crimes related to Operation Condor, the coordinated effort among several 1970s South American dictatorships to capture and summarily execute leftists.

The justices' decision signified a change in the stance of the high court, which twice had upheld his immunity based on a ruling that Pinochet's dementia made him unfit to stand trial.

Concurrently, another judge, Sergio Muñoz, is investigating charges of illegal enrichment and bribery against the former dictator, who governed from 1973 to 1990, after the discovery of hidden multi-million-dollar accounts in his name at Washington, D.C.-based Riggs Bank.

Hospital sources said Pinochet will undergo several tests and doctors will subsequently decide whether to discharge him or keep him in the hospital.