SANTIAGO, Chile – General Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator, was indicted and placed under house arrest yesterday for the kidnapping of nine dissidents and the killing of one of them during his 1973-90 military regime.

The indictment marked the third attempt to try General Pinochet in Chile for abuses from his 17-year dictatorship, none so far successful.

Judge Juan Guzman said he decided to try the 89-year-old retired general – reversing a previous court decision to exempt General Pinochet from trial on health grounds – after questioning him and examining reports from court appointed doctors.

“General Pinochet has been declared mentally competent to face a criminal trial in Chile,” Judge Guzman ruled.

The defense team immediately announced an appeal, saying General Pinochet suffers from worsening dementia, and legal proceedings could take months.

Judge Guzman has won a reputation as a crusader in prominent human rights cases, including a previous trial of General Pinochet that was dropped by the Supreme Court three years ago on health grounds.

General Pinochet also suffers from diabetes, arthritis, and uses a pacemaker. A small group of victims of abuses under General Pinochet and their relatives celebrated Judge Guzman’s announcement in the crowded court hallways.

“This is great news for all those Chileans who do not accept impunity in the violations of human rights,” said a member of an organization of dissidents who disappeared under General Pinochet, Viviana Diaz.

General Pinochet, who remained at his guarded suburban Santiago mansion, had no immediate reaction.

Judge Guzman said he also was influenced by an interview General Pinochet granted last year to a Spanish-language Miami TV station.

General Pinochet told the station that he sees himself as “a good angel,” and he blamed abuses on subordinates in his regime. Judge Guzman said General Pinochet’s answers made him appear mentally alert.

“It was not difficult,” Judge Guzman said of his decision, which was angrily disputed by General Pinochet’s chief defense attorney, Pablo Rodriguez.

Mr. Rodriguez recalled that the Supreme Court in 2001 dismissed the previous indictment of General Pinochet by Judge Guzman after doctors diagnosed the former ruler with a mild case of dementia – a condition he said has worsened.

He called the indictment and detention a violation of General Pinochet’s rights.

“This is a person that is being tried without having any possibility whatsoever of defending himself,” Mr. Rodriguez claimed. “Everybody in Chile knows that General Pinochet has been constantly persecuted by Judge Guzman.”

Prosecution lawyers said the decision sets a precedent. “We now expect other indictments will follow in other cases,” attorney Eduardo Contreras said.