Baltasar Garzón - Prominent Rights Judge Is Convicted in Spain

"The judge, Baltasar Garzón, one of Spain’s most contentious judicial personalities, is renowned for pressing cases against former dictators, including Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and ordering an inquiry into atrocities committed by fascist forces during the Spanish Civil War."
(Source: New York Times)

Ok so a few months ago, a bunch of radical right wing party members in Spain, decided to look into Baltazar Garzón's case against the Chile dictator August Pinochet. Back then, Garzón was able to build a up a criminal case against the General, and arrest him during his visit to Spain. He was extremely important in the falling of the Chile dictatorship and in by that mean, opnening the precedent for the ending of several other south american opressing regimes. He also, not long ago, began to order an inquiry into war crimes commited during the spanish civil war.

And now, decades after the arrest and criminal case, and perhaps as payback for the inquiries now being made, right wing extremists have gotten themselves a lawyer and a judge willing to cooperate in this madness of a case. He is being judged by illegal wiretaping back in the Pinochet case. And, Spain’s Supreme Court on Thursday convicted him and ordered him to be suspended from the courts for 11 years. Without possible appeal.

In my opinion, this is purely ridiculous, first of all even if he overstepped his authority in wiretapping it was to arrest a man responsible for thousands of deaths and for opressing the lives of millions of people by leading a fascist regime. And secondly, what good does it do to convict him? Just so they show other judges that they can't overstep their authority? That won't be the only effect, after this, I'm sure that no judge in Spain, or anywhere else, will have the courage to step up against cases like this, in fright of the same happening to him. Instead of pretending like they're "making justice" against an honorable judge, they should let him, and encourage others do actually do it. Instead, they side with fascists who have no valid ground in their arguments, at least in comparison with the positive consequences that the so called "overstepping of authority" had.

Meanwhile, all across Spain, thousands of people gather in support for the Crusading Judge.