In a widely expected decision, Judge Victor Montiglio charged Pinochet in connection with the kidnapping and disappearance of seven dissidents in the early years of his 1973-90 dictatorship, his office said.
According to the civilian government that succeeded Pinochet in 1990, 3,190 people were killed for political reasons during his regime. More than 1,000 others remain unaccounted for after being arrested and tens of thousands fled their homeland to exile.
Pinochet, a butcher, was put into power by the US in a coup that ousted the democratically elected Salvador Allende.