THE TELEGRAPH: Balthasar Garzon, the crusading Spanish judge famed for his attempt to extradite Augusto Pinochet from Britain is to be put on trial for abuse of power.
Spain's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday he "knowingly acting without jurisdiction" when he launched an investigation into crimes perpetrated under Gen Francisco Franco.
Magistrate Luciano Varela ruled he had "consciously ignored" an amnesty decreed in parliament in 1977 designed to draw a line under past abuses and aid Spain's smooth transition to democracy.
The decision marked a devastating fall from grace for Spain's most prominent and controversial judge who gained fame worldwide for using the Spanish doctrine of universal jurisdiction to pursue human rights abuses.
He came to international prominence in the late 1990s with the pursuit of Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet for human rights abuses. He has also investigated atrocities by Argentina's former military regime, indicted Osama bin Laden over the September 11 attacks and pursued American authorities over torture allegations in Guantánamo. He has also questioned the legality of war in Iraq and tried unsuccessfully to prosecute Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud.
He now faces immediate suspension from the National Court where he serves as magistrate until the case against him is heard.
The 54-year-old judge polarised Spain when he launched a probe into the country's darkest era more than 70 years after the start of the Civil War and 33 years after the death of the fascist dictator Gen Franco.
He was accused of breaking a pact of silence and reopening old wounds with a criminal investigation into the fate of 114,000 people who "vanished" during the 1936-39 conflict and ensuing dictatorship.
He declared that a "virtual genocide" had been carried out by Franco and his henchmen and that such crimes should be investigated as a form of "institutional rehabilitation to counter the official silence". >>> Fiona Govan in Madrid | Wednesday, April 07, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Judge Balthasar Garzon has earned the moniker in Spain of "superjuez" – super-judge – for his crusading zeal in pursing high-profile wrongdoers both at home and abroad.
The charismatic silver haired magistrate, who is married and has three children, is seen as a hero by leftists and international human rights groups but reviled equally by those who accuse him of egotism and pursuing his own grievances.
The son of a petrol-pump attendant, he was born in October 1955 in Torres, Andalucia, and as a committed Roman Catholic began studying for the priesthood before changing to law.
He became a provincial judge aged 23 and was the youngest ever magistrate to join the National Court in Madrid, aged just 32 where he made a name in cases of crimes against humanity, corruption, organised crime and terrorism cases.
Instinctively left-wing having been brought up in the dying days of Franco's regime he briefly gave up the bench to run for parliament as an "independent" socialist candidate but resigned months later complaining that it was impossible to tackle corruption from within. >>> Fiona Govan in Madrid | Wednesday, April 07, 2010
