A Sydney woman wanted in Chile over the alleged kidnapping of seven people during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet could seek bail due to heart problems, a magistrate has been told.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Adriana Rivas has been in custody since her arrest by NSW police in February following a request from Chile for her extradition.
The 66-year-old is awaiting the outcome of her first bail application before magistrate Margaret Quinn in May.
Her solicitor, Peter Tsintilas, in Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday said Rivas was in hospital for blood tests ahead of an operation.
But there were further cardiac issues and the surgery didn't go ahead so they're seeking a cardiologist's report, he said.
Barrister Trent Glover, for the Republic of Chile, said a person remanded in custody cannot make a second bail application unless there is evidence of a change in circumstance, according to a section of the Extradition Act.
"It doesn't appear that that was a medical position that was relied upon in the bail application Your Honour has heard ... so that would be a change in circumstance that would enable another bail application to be made at a later time," Mr Glover said.
Ms Quinn adjourned the matter to June 27 when she may make a decision on Rivas' first bail bid.
Pilar Aguilera, spokeswoman for the Australian chapter of the National Campaign for Truth and Justice in Chile, said they were "maybe a little frustrated, maybe a little surprised" at the delay but "we're in it for the long haul".
"Along the way we've learnt a lot about extradition law but we're not lawyers and I know that there's sub-sections within that (extradition) law so they have to be heard," she told AAP outside court on Tuesday.
Ms Aguilera said it had been an emotional time for campaign group members.
"It's really important for the community to be here, to stick together," she said.
"It raises a lot of emotions, a lot of things that people can't move on with in their life because the trauma (from the Pinochet dictatorship) has been so great."
Rivas has denied being a "co-perpetrator" in the alleged kidnappings, arguing that while she was working for someone who reported to the head of DINA - described as a CIA equivalent - it was a mundane secretarial job.
Australian Associated Press
