ARGENTINA: Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon vows to continue legal fight against forces of Franco despite being disbarred

Record ID: 446849

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon vows to continue legal fight against forces of Franco despite being disbarred
  • Date: 2nd March 2012
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (MARCH 01, 2012) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) EXTERIOR OF CULTURAL CENTRE SPANISH JUDGE BALTASAR GARZON ARRIVING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE APPLAUDING AND GARZON ENTERING CONFERENCE MAN INTRODUCING GARZON (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPANISH JUDGE BALTASAR GARZON SAYING: "However, I can say that I am going to continue to fighting for what I think is indispensable, fighting in this case and in the protection of human rights. I don't know how I'm going to do it but I'm going to do it as long as I am still alive." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) GARZON SAYING: "I don't know what's happening in Europe, but despite the absolution I'm going to maintain the charges in the European human rights court because it's necessary, I think, to get a response for the thousands, the hundreds of thousands of victims. As far as if it's my right or not, I don't care. What I do want is a response as to whether a judge can move out of his jurisdiction to interpret the law and facts that can definitely be interpreted as crimes against humanity that could be forgotten forever." PEOPLE APPLAUDING GARZON WITH MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO VARIOUS OF GARZON LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9GAZ7171OJUV99E3SFFA1DT9Z
  • Story Text: Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon said on Thursday (March 01) that he will continue to fight for human rights just days after he was cleared of abusing his authority.
    Spain disbarred Garzon for 11 years, saying he overstepped his bounds when he decided to investigate the murders of more than 100,000 people by the forces of former dictator Francisco Franco.
    The crusading Garzon is seen by a hero by many in Argentina, where thousands fled to escape the Franco regime.
    "However, I can say that I am going to continue to fighting for what I think is indispensable, fighting in this case and in the protection of human rights. I don't know how I'm going to do it but I'm going to do it as long as I am still alive," Garzon said to a room of activists and Spanish immigrants.
    Garzon's case rekindled a debate about whether more should be done to explore the darker events of the Franco regime which lasted from the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 until Franco's death in 1975.
    "I don't know what's happening in Europe, but despite the absolution I'm going to maintain the charges in the European human rights court because it's necessary, I think, to get a response for the thousands, the hundreds of thousands of victims. As far as if it's my right or not, I don't care. What I do want is a response as to whether a judge can move out of his jurisdiction to interpret the law and facts that can definitely be interpreted as crimes against humanity that could be forgotten forever," the judge added.
    Garzon, internationally known for ordering the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, had been charged with violating an amnesty for political crimes passed in 1977 to ease the transition to democracy after Franco's rule.
    In its ruling, backed by six of the seven judges considering the case, the court said Garzon's legal action contained "arguments we consider erroneous," but nothing that meant he was guilty of over-stepping the amnesty.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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