MADRID (AP) — The Spanish judge known for pioneering cross-border justice cases is sitting in the dock as a criminal defendant for allegedly overstepping his jurisdiction with a probe of right wing atrocities during and after the Spanish civil war.
Baltasar Garzon removed his flowing black judge’s robe Tuesday and took his place behind a small table in the ornate main chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court.
The session began with the seven-judge panel overseeing the trial announcing it had rejected defense motions seeking to have the case thrown out, on grounds including alleged partiality by the judge who indicted Garzon in 2010.
Garzon is perhaps best-known for indicting the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, having him arrested while Pinochet visited London.
