http://www.democracynow.org/
Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón on Holding Torturers Accountable, Why He Opposes the Killing of Osama bin Laden, and His Threatened Ouster from the Bench
Citing the doctrine of universal jurisdiction,
Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón has used the Spanish courts to
investigate cases of torture, war crimes and other offenses around the
world. In 1998, he ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto
Pinochet, a move that led to Pinochet’s arrest and detention in
Britain. In 2003, Garzón indicted Osama bin Laden and dozens of other
members of al-Qaeda. Garzón later attempted to indict six high-ranking
members of the Bush administration for their role in authorizing torture
at the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay and overseas, before the
case was eventually dropped under U.S. pressure. While Garzón has long
been one of the world’s most feared judges, he is now facing his own
legal battle. Last year he was indicted for exceeding his authority for
launching an investigation into the disappearance of more than 100,000
civilians at the hands of supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during the
Spanish Civil War. Garzón was suspended as a judge in May 2010 and is
facing three separate trials. [includes rush transcript]