Judge on trial
January 24, 2012
Judge Baltasar Garzon went on trial at Madrid's Supreme Court on Tuesday, in the opening day of the second of three cases against him.
The high-profile 56-year-old magistrate is accused of abusing his powers by ordering a probe into the disappearance of 114,000 people during Spain's 1936-39 civil war and the subsequent dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.
Prosecutors allege that the judge exceeded his powers and ignored an amnesty agreed for such crimes in 1977, two years after Franco's death, as Spain sought to return to democratic rule.
Garzon argues that the alleged acts would constitute crimes against humanity and would therefore not be subject to the amnesty forged by Spain's major political parties over 30 years ago.
If convicted, Garzon could be banned from the legal profession for up to 20 years, which would effectively end his career. More than 20 people who believe that they lost family members under Franco's regime were lined up to speak in the judge's defense.
Ambitious indictments
Garzon has always passionately pursued such human rights cases, famously ordering the extradition of Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet from Britain to face charges of human rights abuses in 1998. He has also chased key players in Argentina's former dictatorship, indicted Osama bin Laden and probed abuses at the US prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
The maverick judge faces three trials at the moment, all of them brought by private parties rather than Spain's state prosecutor. The first, where he is accused of illegally allowing police to record phone conversations, wrapped up on Thursday - but Madrid's Supreme Court has not yet reached a verdict. He also may face trial over allegedly shelving an investigation into Spain's biggest bank, Santander, in return for indirect payments from the lender.
Author: Mark Hallam (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Andrew Bowen