Ex-dictator Pinochet ordered arrested in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct 27 (Reuters) A judge today ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for crimes related to a secret detention center used in the years following his 1973 coup, court sources said.

Judge Alejandro Solis ordered the arrest of Pinochet for 36 cases of kidnap, one of homicide and for 23 cases of torture at the Villa Grimaldi, a political detention center run by Pinochet's secret police where thousands of people were tortured between 1974 and 1977.

The sources said Pinochet would be placed under house arrest at his home on Monday.

Pinochet was under house arrest for seven weeks last year, before being released on bail, on charges related to the disappearance and presumed death of three leftists during his 17-year rule.

REUTERS PB VC2158