LONDON. Mar 2: A plane be heved to be carrying former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet left Britain today, hours after he was ruled mentally unlit to stand trial on charges of human rights abuses.

The medically outfitted plane left an airbase north of London after Britain's top law enforcement official dismissed the extradition requests of Spain and three other nations — Belgium. France and Switzerland — seeking to try Pinochet.

The 84-year old former dictator. who had been detained in Britain for more than 16 months, was believed to be

headed home to Chile. There was no immediate confirmation he was on the plane, however.

Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision to free Pinochet was based on an independent medical team's conclusions that his diminished mental capacity would make it Impossible for him to participate in a trial. Pinochet suffered two small strokes last fall.

The ruling was open to appeal. but any such filings became moot II Pinochet left the country.

Britain's decision to free Pinochet — after a marathon

lug-of-war that tested International will to try rulers for past abuses — stirred up disappointment and dismay in some European capitals.

But Spain. Switzerland. Belgium and France, the four countries that sought Pinochet's extradition. said they would not. or could not. appeal the British decision based on a medical report that found the retired general mentally incapable of following any trial proceedings.

Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes rejected the Spanish Judiciary's demand for an appeal but said he felt "a certain bitter taste" at the 84 year-old general's newfound freedom.

He said Pinochets 16-month-long arrest — and international attention to the case — will "serve as a warning signal for all those who don't respect human rights."

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had long made clear his opposition to Pinochet standing trial in Madrid, saying it would’Tuffle political sensitivities in Chile, already deeply divided by the legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship.

Spanish lawyers for victims of Pinochet's regime repeatedly accused the government of working to impede the general's extradition.