Spanish judge suspended over abuse of power charges

Saturday, May 15, 2010

A prominent Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón, has been suspended from his post by Spain's General Council of the Judiciary.

The suspension comes after Spain's Supreme Court ruled that an inquiry Garzón opened in 2008 into crimes committed during Spain's civil war, which lasted from 1936 to 1939. The events are covered by an amnesty from 1977, and it is charged that Garzón abused his powers by opening the investigation.

Garzón appealed the ruling, claiming that had conducted a legitimate inquiry, as crimes against humanity had been conducted during the war, which were not valid under the amnesty. A date for his trial has not yet been set; if convicted, Garzón would not serve jail time, but would be suspended for as long as 20 years.

The Human Rights Watch was critical of Garzón's suspension; a statement from the group said that "This is a sad day for the cause of human rights. Garzón was instrumental in delivering justice for victims of atrocities abroad and now he is being punished for trying to do the same at home."

On Thursday, Garzón requested of the Spanish government to be allowed to serve as a consultant for the International Criminal Court, which offered him the post. Scheduled to last for seven months, the assignment has been seen as Garzón's attempt to at least partially avoid the embarrassment of being suspended from his post in Spain.

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!

Sources

"Spanish judge Garzon suspended" — Al Jazeera, May 14, 2010
"Crusading Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon is suspended" — BBC News Online, May 14, 2010

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.