Scores of rights supporters gathered on Tuesday in Madrid for the opening day of what they see as an unfair trial at the Supreme Court against controversial but admired High Court Judge Baltasar Garzón.
This witch hunt, they say, is geared to ruin the career of an internationally famous magistrate who catapulted to fame in 1998 when he issued an arrest warrant against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on human rights charges. The fascists and other protectors of the memory of the Spanish dictatorship want their turn at Garzón for trying to open an investigation into crimes committed during the Franco regime. In complaints originally filed against him by an obscure far-right union calling itself Manos Limpias and the Falange de las JONS party, the plaintiffs say that Garzón purposely overlooked the 1977 amnesty law passed during the Transition and which pretty much gave immunity to all the crimes committed during the period 1936-1975. But what Judge Garzón tried to do was to make it easier for the victims and survivors of this dark period to find their loved ones buried in common graves throughout the country and seek closure with the past.
Although it may seem strange that the Supreme Court – the bench where many of its justices no doubt are politically tainted – should bring international shame on itself by putting Garzón in the dock, the High Court judge has pretty much given his enemies the necessary ammunition over the years for this type of revenge. As mentioned in past columns, Garzón has been a publicity seeker – writing books, giving lectures and capitalising on his fame. He is probably the most famous judge in the world and perhaps the only magistrate who is often the answer of a pub quiz question. Where judges in other countries are discreet, Garzón has been vocal, and many of his fellow magistrates, including others on the High Court, have found this type of judicial temperament unacceptable.
Last week, Garzón went on trial in another case. He has been accused of violating the constitutional guarantees of an alleged gang of corrupt businessmen of the so-called Gürtel conspiracy who profited from local Popular Party (PP) governments in Madrid, Valencia and Castilla-La Mancha through kickbacks in exchange for tenders. The judge authorised police investigators to record the jailhouse conversations they were holding with their lawyers on suspicion that the defence team was helping them launder and conceal their ill-gotten money. The lawyers say Garzón wanted to know their defence strategy and violated the attorney-client privilege. Again those who filed the complaint against Garzón are loosely connected to the PP. Garzón’s lawyer says that all the complainants in the two cases have filed briefs that do not meet the minimum standards. That will be for the Supreme Court to decide.
The Garzón case is a really a judicial tragedy for Spain. For years this High Court judge has gotten away with drumming up so much self-induced publicity without even a slap on the wrist. His power base of supporters has grown throughout the world, incomparable to any other judge. And now when it comes for revenge, the legal community is divided with the nation’s politicised Supreme Court taking centre stage and revealing to the entire international community that this bench is far from impartial. It is time for a complete clean-up of the Spain’s judiciary.
Brussels debut
Economy Minister Luis de Guindos has been thrown to the wolves for the first time since he assumed office. The flamboyant “non-politician” Cabinet member went to Brussels amid a stark forecast by the Bank of Spain that the country was headed for deep recession this year and would probably miss its deficit reduction target of 4 per cent of GDP by the end of 2012. But the ever-confident De Guindos assured his EU colleagues that the government of Mariano Rajoy would whip things back into shape soon. In order to do so, the government needs unique mechanisms to create jobs and rein in the regions’ debts. It is not going to be easy, but De Guindos has been privately telling friends and associates that he believes there will be some improvement in the economy within six months. It seems like a long shot, but if the minister says he can do it, who is to argue with him? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Written by Martin Delfin, Martin writes for the English language version of El Pais
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