Spain's crusading judge to go on trial for Franco probe

A top Spanish human rights judge goes on trial Tuesday for abusing his power by trying to prosecute atrocities of the regime of General Francisco Franco in the 1930s. Baltasar Garzon will appear before Madrid's Supreme Court for ordering an investigation into the disappearance of 114,000 people during Spain's 1936-39 civil war and Franco's subsequent dictatorship. The high-profile 56-year-old is charged with exceeding his powers on the grounds that the alleged crimes were covered by an amnesty agreed in 1977 as Spain moved towards democracy two years after Franco's death. Garzon argues the acts were crimes against humanity and therefore not subject to the amnesty which was agreed to by Spain's main political parties. If convicted, Garzon, who won international renown by pursuing Latin American dictators, would not go to prison but could be suspended from the legal profession for up to 20 years, putting an end to his career. Among those due to speak at the trial are 22 witnesses called by the defence to testify for the families of victims, many of them buried in unmarked mass graves across the country. The trial is expected to last a month or more. The case serves as a reminder of how divisive the subject of the Franco regime remains in Spain more than 35 years after the dictator's death. Garzon's detractors accuse him of opening old wounds with his bid to investigate the fates of those who disappeared under Franco and of seeking the media spotlight by repeatedly taking on high-profile cases. He won international prominence in 1998 by ordering the extradition of Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet from Britain to face charges of human rights abuses. The judge has also pursued members of the former dictatorship in Argentina, indicted Osama bin Laden and probed abuses at the US prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. A number of human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticised the trial and top Spanish artists such as Oscar-winning film director Pedro Almodovar have shown support for Garzon. His backers argue that the trial, along with a separate case heard last week at the Supreme Court over illegal wiretapping in a corruption case, are acts of revenge against the judge for daring to tackle the taboo of the Franco regime. The Supreme Court has not yet issued its verdict in the wiretapping trial, which wrapped up on Thursday. If convicted in that case Garzon could be suspended from the legal profession for 17 years. Garzon was suspended from his duties at the National Court, Spain's top criminal court, in May 2010 and currently works as a consultant at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He faces a possible third trial over allegations that he shelved a tax lawsuit against Spain's biggest bank Santander after receiving indirect payments from it for seminars he delivered in New York.