Australian judge says woman can be extradited to Chile

An Australian judge has dismissed a woman’s appeal against extradition to Chile where she is wanted on kidnapping charges dating to Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship in the 1970s

SYDNEY -- An Australian judge on Thursday dismissed a woman’s appeal against extradition to Chile, where she is wanted on kidnapping charges dating to Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship in the 1970s. Adriana Rivas had appealed against a Sydney magistrate’s decision in October that she could be extradited on allegations that she kidnapped seven people in 1976 and 1977, including Communist Party leader Victor Diaz. She was an assistant to Manuel Contreras, the head of the DINA secret police during Pinochet’s dictatorship. Rivas, 68, denies ever meeting the alleged victims, who have never been found. Federal Court Justice Wendy Abraham in Sydney ruled that Rivas could be extradited on the seven charges of aggravated kidnap. She can appeal the judgment before a full bench of the Federal Court.