Chile judges apologise for actions under Pinochet

Ahead of the the 40th anniversary of the military coup in Chile, the body representing judges in the country has made an unprecedented apology for the actions of its members under military rule in the 1970s and 1980s.

It a statement, it said that the judiciary at the time had abandoned its role as protector of basic rights.

"The time has come to ask for the forgiveness of victims... and of Chilean society," said the judges.

More than 3,000 people were killed under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990.

The BBC's Gideon Long reports.