Baltasar Garzón, judge who pursued dictators, brought down by wiretapping

By artappraiser on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 9:08pm |

Supporters protest in Madrid after Spanish human rights champion barred for 11 years over illegal recordings of lawyer

By Giles Tremblett in Madrid, Guardian.co.uk, Feb. 9, 2012

To the victims of human rights criminals he was a crusading knight fearlessly wielding the sword of justice wherever it was needed across the globe. Now Judge Baltasar Garzón, the Spanish magistrate who pursued dictators, terrorists and drug barons, has himself been condemned in a remarkable court verdict that claims he behaved like the totalitarian regimes he famously pursued.

Garzón's career effectively came to a dramatic end on Thursday as he began an 11-year suspension for illegally wiretapping conversations between remand prisoners and their lawyers in a corruption case involving the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy's People's party (PP) [....]

Also see:

Tremblett's Feb. 4 story: Trial of judge Baltasar Garzón splits a Spain still suffering civil war wounds

Nearly four decades after Franco's death, Baltasar Garzón, the man who wants the regime's crimes out in the open, is the only person in the dock

URL:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/09/spain-judge-baltasar-garzon-suspended?intcmp=239

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As the leading Dagblog purveyor of foreign news links, can you sum up your take, AA? Irony or calumny? Is this justice or inequity?

by NCD on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 12:00pm

Don't really feel qualified to sum up a "take." Especially as one who cannot read Spanish, I have to rely on the summaries and takes of English-language media. I was surprised to see it, hadn't been following anything on it, knew that he was admired by some American bloggers during the Bush years, thought others would likewise want to know about it happening.

All that said, from what I did read on it, I'll admit that what I thought was: Icarus. Judges, especially prosecutor judges as was his position, have to be careful not to fly too close to the sun, or to act like they are king of the world and no one can touch them. Arrogance is often the cause of the downfall of many who seek to do good. That's what I thought, but I am not sure if it applies in this case because I don't have all the details.

by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 5:04pm

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