MADRID: Human rights campaigners welcomed a Spanish decision to turn down a legal bid aimed at blocking the extradition case against former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Spain's appeals court yesterday turned down a request by state prosecutors to order the release of the 83-year-old, who on Monday will face a formal extradition hearing in London. The court ruled that Judge Baltasar Garzon did have the right to seek Pinochet's extradition on allegations of human rights crimes during his 1973-90 rule. ''This is good news,'' said a spokesman for Amnesty International. ''What we want is for this case to follow a proper legal process, ending in a trial.''