Hundreds protest Garzon conviction in Spain

Hundreds of people protested outside Spain's supreme court in the capital Madrid on Sunday over its decision to bar anti-terrorism judge Baltazar Garzon from the judiciary. Protesters shouted "Garzon, friend, the people are with you" and "We want Justice" to voice their anger at his suspension by the seven-judge court for ordering illegal wiretapping. Demonstrators rallied underneath a giant flag bearing a photo of Garzon and denouncing "the trial of shame". "He's the only judge who dared to investigate politically incorrect cases," said Manuel Melero, a 47-year-old university professor who came to the demonstration with his two daughters. The court on Thursday convicted Garzon on wiretapping charges, barring him from the judiciary for 11 years and effectively ending his career as a judge after he was suspended from his duties in May 2010. The 56-year-old was found guilty of ordering illegal recordings of corruption suspects talking to their lawyers. His defenders say vengeful enemies were behind the case, as well as two other trials still under way. Garzon is also on trial for alleged bribe-taking and in a separate case for ordering an investigation in 2008 into the fate of more than 100,000 people reported missing during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939, and during General Francisco Franco's rule from 1939 to 1975. He is accused of violating an amnesty agreed by Spain's main political parties after Franco's death. "It seems really unjust that a judge who for the first time tried to make justice by trying to give thousands of families back their dead, be judged," said Alba Vidal, a 19-year-old student. Garzon said in a statement that he intends to fight Thursday's conviction. Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria called on Friday for the court's verdict to be respected, while the UN office for Human Rights rights expressed concern about the prosecution of Garzon. "Judges should not be prosecuted for doing their job," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.