Eloise HorsfieldHUMAN rights observers are attending the trial of controversial judge Baltazar Garzon today as he faces charges for investigating the disappearance of over 100,000 people during Franco’s regime.
Right-wing prosecuters Manos Limpias argue that since the crimes were covered by the 1977 amnesty, Garzon was exceeding his authority by looking into them.
Representatives from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists will attend the proceedings at the Supreme Court.
It is the second of three trials Garzon is facing.
Last week he was in the dock for illegally recording conversations between lawyers and clients in a Spanish political corruption case, and has yet to be sentenced.
If convicted he could be removed from court for up to 20 years.
“I’m optimistic,” Garzon said before last week’s trial. “If everything goes as it should, I will be found not guilty.”
Garzon, 56, worked as an investigative judge for several years, working on cases involving the governments of Israel and China, Basque terrorist group Eta, drug clans and investigations into torture on detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
He made world news after ordering the arrest of Chile’s ex-dictator General Pinochet in London.
In 1945, with the defeat of the subhuman Fascists of Germany/Austria and Italy
how simple to send battle hardened troops into Spain and round up the Fascist killers and deal with them then.
Why not – then as now most Americans are extremely right wing as was Churchill and they had no intention of re-instating a democratically elected government consisting of Anarchists/Socialists and Communists.
Who are those who seek to imprison Garzon, why none other than the old Fascist families who still rule Spain today.
I don’t know what these old Fascists are frightened of, let’s face it only a handful of Fascists at the top suffered any punishment at all at the Nuremburg trials, the real killers were left in peace – at the orders of the USA many of whom were of German blood – Eisenhower!
So all that would have happened if Garzon had his way would be explict exposure of these families and nothing more.
Because I got close with many old men in Guadix (where I used to live) they pointed out the Fascist families who had got rich with patronage of the Fascist regime.They even told me about the political polarisation of the area – Guadix/Socialst, Benelua/Communist and Alcudia/Fascist.
If you want to know the truth about Spain’s past you need to speak to those who lived through it.
Would be great if this farce of a trial would bring this strange amnesty to the attention of the International Court in The Hague.
They in turn could revoke this possibly illegal amnesty and that in my opinion would be the best thing that could happen to Spain in its young democracy.
Dealing with the Franco area at last and to give a new beginning a chance is long overdue.
Baltasar Garzon for prime minister !
A black black day for Spain….shame,shame,shame!