I think, unfortunately, that this is as far as the Pinochet case goes

Prosecution lawyer Juan Bustos

Monday's decision by the Santiago Court of Appeals technically only delays the legal process until the general's condition improves, but prosecuting lawyers say his age means the case has effectively been abandoned.

Chileans are now facing the likelihood that their former military leader will never stand trial.

President Ricardo Lagos was swift to call on his fellow Chileans to respect the ruling, saying the three judges had acted independently in their 2-1 vote to suspend legal action on health grounds.

Dementia and memory loss were given as reasons for not trying General Pinochet, 85, who has been under house arrest charged as an accessory to 75 cases of politically-motivated kidnapping and murder carried out at the beginning of his 1973-90 rule.

Pinochet's condition is said to be stable

"We all must accept this decision," said President Lagos, a socialist jailed by General Pinochet in 1987.

Prosecution lawyers said they were ready to take the case to the Supreme Court, but admitted they were not likely to succeed.

"Ultimately, while it is temporary, it is a final acquittal, because as we have seen Pinochet is going to be in permanently ill health," one, Juan Bustos, told reporters.

I hope with this ruling that our father can have a little more peace during what is left of his life

Pinochet's son, Marco Antonio

BBC correspondent James Reynolds says that Juan Guzman, the judge investigating the charges against the general, had previously dismissed attempts by the defence to have him declared unfit for trial.

But, he says, the panel which made Monday's decision had declared him unfit on the basis of the same report that Judge Guzman had seen.

The general's mental condition was also cited as the reason for allowing him to return home last year from Britain, where he had been detained after a request for his extradition by a judge in Spain on similar human rights charges.

Disappointment

Relatives of the thousands of people who disappeared during the general's time in power described the ruling as "shameful".

"Once again the country is being lied to; once again, justice is not being done in our country," one of their leaders, Viviana Diaz, told Spanish radio.

Pinochet will remain in history as having been spared from trial because he is crazy

Prosecution lawyer Carmen Hertz

Human rights lawyers in Spain who originally sought to bring General Pinochet to court said the ruling was a blow against efforts to end his impunity.

And Amnesty International spokeswoman Virginia Shoppee said it was a shame the authorities had not been able to find answers for the victims' relatives.

General Pinochet is describe as being in a stable condition two days after being discharged from hospital.

More than 3,000 "disappeared" during Pinochet's rule

He is accused of covering up dozens of killings and abductions by an army squad known as the Caravan of Death after he came to power in a coup in 1973.

His opponents say he had a clear responsibility for the slaughter, sending a close associate to head the squad. He has repeatedly denied any responsibility.

The charges are among the more than 250 complaints filed against him for alleged human rights abuses during his 17-year rule, when more than 3,000 people were executed or disappeared presumed dead.

If convicted, he faced being sentenced to up to five years in jail.