NEW DELHI: India’s top court on Tuesday rejected a French request to release from prison a Frenchwoman wanted in Chile over the assassination of a key supporter of General Pinochet’s military regime.

Chile is seeking the extradition of Marie-Emmanuelle Verhoeven, 56, for her alleged role in a conspiracy to kill Senator Jaime Guzman Errazuriz on April 1, 1991.

Indian police arrested her on February 16 as she entered the country from Nepal, and she has been held in Delhi’s notorious Tihar Jail ever since.

The French embassy had told the Supreme Court it would ensure she remained in India if it released her into its custody pending an extradition hearing.

But on Tuesday the court dismissed the plea, questioning the embassy’s ability to uphold such a guarantee.

“The Frenchwoman is accused of terror activity, murder and being a part of a subversive group that killed a senator,” said Justice T. S. Thakur.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2015