Spanish judge Garzon 'faces trial' over Franco probe

BBC ^ | Wednesday, 7 April 2010 | Staff

[Cardhu]

Spain's most high-profile judge, Baltasar Garzon, is reportedly to stand trial for overreaching his powers over an inquiry into the Franco regime.

Mr Garzon launched the investigation into atrocities committed during the four-decade rule of General Francisco Franco in October 2008.

But it was shelved amid opposition from prosecutors and other judges.

Mr Garzon is famous for targeting international figures including Augusto Pinochet and Osama Bin Laden.

The case against the judge originates from a complaint by a right-wing group, Manos Limpias (Clean Hands).

It claimed Mr Garzon had knowingly exceeded his official remit in launching an investigation into tens of thousands of disappearances during Spain's 1936-1939 civil war and under the Franco regime that followed.

[BulletBobCo]

General Francisco Franco is still dead.

[Cardhu]

He sure is- But Garzon certainly needs to be reined in as he has often been accused of grand standing.

“In March 2009, Garzón considered whether Spain should allow charges to be filed against former officials from the United States government under George W. Bush for offering justifications for torture.[5]

The six former Bush officials are: Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General; John Yoo, of the Office of Legal Counsel; Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy; William Haynes II, former general counsel for the Department of Defense; Jay Bybee, also at Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel; and David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff.

On 29 April 2009, Garzon opened an investigation into an alleged “systematic programme” of torture at Guantánamo Bay, following accusations by four former prisoners. “

[livius]

“Manos Limpias” is NOT a “right wing group.” It was as a citizen protest against ETA terrorism that originated after a particularly horrible attack.

Garzon has been aiding Zapatero in his “memoria historica” project, also known as “memoria hysterica,” which is directed at erasing all records of the leftwing terror that led to the Spanish Civil War and also demonizing anyone who was associated in any way with opposition to the Communists during that war. Franco, of course, was Zapatero’s big target, and he has wasted a fortune having statutes of Franco torn down, having streets renamed, having textbooks rewritten, etc.

Then he launched Garzon onto a hunt for “right wingers.”

[Cardhu]

You are no doubt right he has always been too much of a politician.

[nina0113]

Looks like my purchase of every English-language book I could find on the war was a good one. Can you recommend any accurate Spanish-language ones? Out-of-print is fine.

[livius]

Actually, there’s a very good one (about Spain in general) by Stanley Payne...only in Spanish! He’s an American, of course, but wrote this one, called “Espana, Una Historia Unica” (pardon the lack of the enye and accents) last year and it’s excellent, although as yet published only in Spain and only in Spanish.

Anything by Pio Moa is good, Cesar Vidal is good, and Federico Jimenez de los Santos is good. Pio Moa is an historian, as is Cesar Vidal; Federico Jimenez de los Santos is sort of the Spanish equivalent of Rush, but also writes and is very interesting. There’s a great Internet radio station you might like, www.esradio.com, where you can hear him and others like him.

[dfwgator]

Franco, like Pinochet, saved his country.

[nina0113]

Thanks for the list. My Spanish is pretty weak, but if they’re rewriting all the history, I want to preserve what I can.

One of the cooler books in my collection is “Combat Over Spain”, by a Nationalist pilot. My interest started with Ann Bridge’s novel, “Frontier Passage”, which I need to reread before we go to Lourdes, since Pau is so close.

[The Old Hoosier]

Garzon is also hated by Basque nationalists.

[turducken]

Franco was the best leader in modern Spanish history. Leftist revisionary efforts aside.

[reg45]

Franco was the best leader in modern Spanish history.

I hear that he is still dead.

[J Aguilar]

Judge Garzón is a power himself in Spain. For instance, when Socialist prime minister Gonzalez did not appoint him as minister, he investigated his ties with State terrorism, contributing to the victory of the right wing popular party in 1996.

The GAL case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupos_Antiterroristas_de_Liberación

Further, he is supported internationally and has participated in attempts to divide the Spanish people, such as the Law of Historical Memory. However, he probably went too far trying to prosecute Franco, what could be seen as an attempt to undermine the Spanish crown (the king was appointed by Franco, and treating the general as a criminal would invalidate his decissions).

Nowadays there is a struggle for power inside the Spanish National Police. Minister Rubalcaba's men attacked Garzón not only with the complaint from Manos Limpias, but also with the issue of the money paid to him by banker Botín for some conferences in NYC. Judge Garzon counter attacked with the issue of the leaks to ETA (see this) with which the Zapatero administration is negotiating. Thus, the complaint of Manos Limpias is simply an excuse to justify Garzon's being kicked off from the National High Court and deprived of much of his power whilst putting the blame on the "right wing".

[mtntop3]

Your comments on Zapatero and Garzon go to the core.

[RobbyS]

While this zealot conducts his purges ,the country is sinking into a depression.