[JURIST] A Chilean court has granted bail for former president General Augusto Pinochet, under house arrest at his ranch west of Santiago. Pinochet's house arrest began last week after a Chilean appeals court upheld a lower court order issued after a judge had ruled that Pinochet could stand trial on charges of murder and kidnapping for actions taken by his regime against dissidents in the 1970s and 80s. Pinochet is 89 and in poor health; his bail was set at $3500 and is subject to confirmation by an appeal court which will consider the grant in the next few days. AFP has more. Santiago's El Mercurio newspaper has meanwhile reported that Pinochet attempted to withdraw more then 138M pesos (US $240,000) from a Santiago Bank of Boston branch in November; a judge leading a separate probe into corruption and money laundering of Pinochet funds involving US-based Riggs Bank stopped that transaction. Read the El Mercurio article in Spanish.