Baltasar Garzón is arguably the most famous judge in Spain, having tried to bring former dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet, to account, been heavily involved in human rights cases in Latin America and more recently trying to help those whose loved ones vanished during the Spanish Civil War find their graves.
Yet it appears that the judge has upset people in the highest places as he has been dragged through the court himself, three times in total, in what many see as revenge for his becoming "too famous".
Phone Taps On Corruption Trial Defendants
The 56-year-old judge was taken to Spain's Supreme Court on charges that he ordered phone taps on defendants and their lawyers during a very high profile corruption case involving some of Spain's top names. According to El Pais, "In a strongly worded 69-page ruling, the justices said that Garzón caused “a drastic and unjustified reduction in the defense’s strategy” and trampled on the constitutional rights of alleged Gürtel corruption network ringleaders Francisco Correa and Pablo Crespo, and other suspects in the conspiracy." The Supreme Court Justices' decision can not be appealed by Garzón in Spain but he and his legal team are looking at the possibility of appealing the decision in the European Court of Human Rights.
Many people in Spain , however, feel that the suspension of Garzón over a relatively minor infraction was used as a way of stopping him from continuing with his investigations into crimes committed during the years of the Franco dictatorship in Spain. In 1977, shortly after the death of Franco in 1975, an amnesty law was brought in which, in effect, swept all crimes committed during the Civil War under the carpet. An opinion piece in El Pais by José Yoldi puts it like this, "Abroad, Garzón is considered a champion of human rights for his international warrant against Chile’s General Pinochet in 1998 and trial of former members of Argentina’s dictatorship.What better, then, than to convict him for violating basic rights, even if they are the rights of jailed corruption suspects? "
Yoldi makes the point that the use of wire-tapping has been authorised by other judges in high profile cases, such as the murder of young Marta del Castillo, where the tapping of jail cell conversations was used to try and find what her killer had done with her body, which is still as yet undiscovered, as well as in other cases. The judges in these cases have not been brought to book.
International and National Protests at Verdict
There have been loud protests against Garzón's conviction, both from the general public and from within political circles. There are those who have suggested that the whole thing has been politically motivated and that the former judge has been the "victim of right wing persecution". The outcry has spread outside Spain with editorials in the likes of The New York Times and the Financial Times questioning the motives behind the sentence.
Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría spoke out against the protestors saying , "“I would like to tell those political leaders to keep in mind that all judicial decisions are worthy of respect. All Spaniards must respect court verdicts, but even more so public representatives."
Meanwhile, the ordinary people of Spain, who had looked to Baltazar Garzón to find out for them once and for all what happened to their loved ones who 'disappeared', never to be seen again and who are more than likely buried in unmarked graves, are in despair as they now feel they will never get the answers they seek.
Amanda Payne - By Amanda Payne: Topic Editor for European Affairs. Amanda is a freelance writer with a special interest in Spain and all things ...
