Santiago - General Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator accused of hundreds of human rights abuses, was rushed to hospital yesterday after suffering a stroke, days ahead of the latest ruling in a fraud case against him.

Initial reports indicated that Gen Pinochet's condition was serious but not life threatening. Officials at the Santiago Military Hospital said his condition was improving after a "temporary ischemic condition", or interruption of blood flow to the brain. The general has suffered mild strokes in the past.

Guillermo Garin, a retired army general who is Gen Pinochet's spokesman, said doctors were running tests to see how badly the 89-year-old former ruler was affected.

"Ex-president Pinochet was being examined by his doctor this morning and his doctor observed what appeared to be signs of a stroke," Gen Garin told the Guardian. "He was brought from the country 150km [95 miles] away to the army hospital."

He said Gen Pinochet did not faint or suffer a heart attack. Gen Pinochet's son Augusto, however, told reporters that his father arrived unconscious at the military hospital. "He is in intensive care, but thank God it is nothing critical."

The former dictator, who ruled from 1973 to 1990 and has been accused of presiding over human rights abuses including torture and killings, is plagued by a variety of illnesses including mild dementia and diabetes. He has been repeatedly hospitalised for falls and fractures.

Under Chilean law a suspect is exempt from prosecution only in cases of mental illness, including dementia.

The latest incident comes on the eve of a court decision on whether to strip Gen Pinochet of immunity so he can face charges of tax evasion.

Millions of dollars in secret accounts controlled by the former ruler have been traced to Riggs Bank of Washington and Citibank offices in Chile. The accounts were allegedly set up using false names and the names of top Pinochet aides.

An appeals court is to rule on the immunity question next week. But Gen Pinochet is likely to appeal against any decision ordering him to stand trial.

He has a history of falling ill on the eve of important court decisions. Last December, two days before a major ruling on whether he could stand trial for human rights abuses, Gen Pinochet was rushed to the same military hospital after what family members said was a stroke.

"Every time he is about to be stripped of immunity he gets sick and they stick him in the hospital. It seems more than a coincidence," said Viviana Diaz, general secretary for the Association of Families of the Dead and Disappeared.

"The truth is we don't believe General Pinochet very much any more."

Gen Pinochet's health has been a key factor in the multinational efforts to prosecute him, beginning in October 1999 when he was arrested in a London clinic as he recuperated from back surgery.

After spending 502 days under house arrest, he was determined unfit to stand trial and sent back to Chile where he immediately stood up from his wheelchair to hug family and friends.

Chile's supreme court has twice upheld court decisions that Gen Pinochet should be stripped of immunity in order to be charged in human rights abuse cases, but his defence has so far blocked procedures by arguing that he is too ill to defend himself.

According to official Chilean government reports, an estimated 3,000 people were killed during the military government headed by then commander in chief of the Armed forces. At least another 30,000 were tortured by the Dina secret police. In a letter last week, former head of the Dina Manuel Contreras laid direct responsibility for the killings on Gen Pinochet.