SPANISH JUSTICE IS ON TRIAL

The Spanish High Court judge, Baltasar Garzón, is internationally known because of his attempts to bring the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to face justice, which were largely thwarted by Margaret Thatcher. However in Spain he has made a career of investigating the cases corrupt politicians and those on the far right would wish to remain covered up.


Hence on Tuesday Garzón stepped into the dock of the Supreme Court charged with investigating the violation of human rights committed during the Civil War and Franco dictatorship. This case has the legal world in outrage as well as human rights groups. How can a judge be tried for investigating crimes against humanity? The far right groups including ‘Manos Limpias – Clean Hands’ who brought the case against Garzón would argue: because he has gone against Spain’s Amnesty Law introduced in 1977.

Amnesty International has labelled Garzón trail as “scandalous”. The internationally respected organization issued a statement before the judge was due to enter the dock on Tuesday. He is accused of obstructing justice by opening an investigation into the crimes of the Franco era and to determine who was responsible for them. If found guilty he faces being banned from office for 20 years effectively ending his judicial career.

The human rights organisation is not alone in its support for Garzón. Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists and the Asociación por la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica, have called press conferences to voice their outrage and backing for the judge for the morning when his trial opened.

Amnesty International has spoken out over Judge Baltasar Garzón being placed on trial for seeking justice, the truth and justice for the victims and their families of a massive violation of human rights. It also defends his investigation of the abuse of human rights and says to do so is an international obligation for Spain.

The judge stands accused because he investigated in the High Court the forced disappearance of 114,266 people between July 1936 and December 1951. His right wing action group accusers say he has gone against the provisions of the Amnesty Law passed in 1977. However Amnesty International dismisses this as irrelevant adding whether he infringed the law or not Spain has a duty under international law to uncover the truth of those years. A leading QC I consulted agrees: international has precedence over Spanish law.

The federal co-ordinator of Izquierda Unida, Cayo Lara, attended a protest organised by the Plataforma de Apoyo a Garzón outside the Supreme Court in Madrid as the trial got underway. He told the crowd if the judge is found guilty it will “be a stain on Spanish justice.”

Lara continued: “All international justice has its eyes on what is happening here and they are perplexed because they can’t understand that when other countries have investigated their crimes in their own dictatorships they have resolved them from a democratic point of view – yet in Spain we have these terms and conditions and the person who is in the dock is the one who had the courage to investigate.”

Expressing the views of many Spaniards, especially those of the centre and far left, Lara said the Supreme Court should remember that over 130,000 people are still lying in the gutters of Spain in unmarked graves. He added: “they should judge these crimes rather than the judge so that one day we can have a quality democracy.” Lara concluded: “Black has to become light so clear and sharp and has to defend truth, justice and reparation for the victims.”

The opening day of the trial reached the stage of a judicial farce when the State prosecutor sided with the defence and called for the charges against Garzón to be thrown out. Respected public prosecutor Luis Navajas told the court: “We agree with the arguments put forward by the defence. We ask that the trial be shelved.”

The Supreme Court has adjourned to Tuesday January 31 when it will rule on the petition to have the case dismissed. If it rejects the application Judge Baltasar Garzón is due to give evidence on that day but it will be Spanish justice that is on trial.

(The above article appeared in Panorama (Gibraltar) on Friday January 27 and in the Morning Star on Wednesday February 1 2012)

WIKI LEAKS: THE COUSO CASE

It was back in August that I first wrote for several publications about Spain wanting a three man US army tank crew to stand trial for the death of José Couso. High Court judge, Santiago Pedraz, had issued three international arrest warrants in Madrid after they fired at the Telecinco cameraman in Bagdad in 2003 fatally wounding him. The judge said he was confident the new US administration of Barack Obama will want to co-operate with the investigation.


What we know now but did know then was that the US Government had seemingly pressured the Spanish Government to have the case stopped. We only know this thanks to the Wiki Leaks leaked cables between the US Madrid Embassy and the State Department in Washington. However we may shortly find out a whole lot more as the family of José Couso has now presented a legal request before the Madrid prosecutor demanding that an investigation is carried out in to whether pressure was applied to influence the judicial process by the US.

The family’s lawyer, Enrique Santiago, confirmed the papers had been lodged and the brother of José, Javier Couso, told Cadena Ser radio that they wanted the matter investigated fully.

It was the Spanish daily newspaper El País that published documents from Wiki Leaks allegedly belonging to the State Department in the USA which showed contact between various prosecutors and members of the Spanish Government and the US Embassy. They related to various cases involving the USA amongst them that of Couso.

On Monday December 13 Juan Fernando López-Aguilar, who was the minister for justice between 2004 and 2007 said the papers did not accurately reflect the contacts and defended the integrity of the Spanish government and the judicial system. Javier Couso dismissed his arguments as “lies”.

The Madrid prosecutor now has two options: to hand the case over to a competent judge for investigation or to file it on the basis there had been no illegal activity. Lawyer Enrique Santiago said he hoped to have an indication as to what would happen shortly but it all depended on the “enthusiasm” for investigating a case in which a number of prosecutors were named including the State Prosecutor, Cándido Conde-Pumpido. For his part the State Prosecutor insists only the official position of his office was communicated to Washington and no outside influence was allowed.

The problem for the Spanish Government is that the case of José Couso has twice been filed by the High Court although it was re-opened in July by the Supreme Court based on the seriousness of the alleged crimes and because the US authorities had not co-operated with the Spanish justice system when it asked to question the three military personnel involved.

Judge Santiago Pedraz has intended to travel to Baghdad to visit the site of where José Couso was killed on April 3 2003 when the US troops entered the city at the end of the war against Sadam Hussein. However Interpol has not issued the find and capture warrant issued by the judge against the three US soldiers – sergeant Thomas Gibson, Captain Philip Wolford and Lieutenant Colonel Philip de Camp - saying it would have to change its statutes to proceed against the military.

José Couso was fatally wounded when he was hit by a shell from a US Mark 1 Abram’s tank that fired at the Hotel Palestine in Bagdad which at the time was a civil zone and used by reporters. In 2006 the High Court filed the case having taken the view that Couso’s death was an “act of war” and was not a premeditated attack on the journalists.

The Supreme Court later rejected this argument and ordered at the insistence of the family the investigation be re-opened. In 2009 the High Court again filed the case and annulled the accusation of “homicide and a crime against the international community” against the three US soldiers.

The view of the court then was there was “insufficient evidence” that the tank’s crew that had fired at Couso deliberately. A Ukrainian cameraman working for Reuters was also killed in the same tragedy. The shell had hit its office on the 15 th floor, and Couso was on the floor below.

However thanks to Wiki Leaks the demand for justice for José Couso has again taken centre stage. Only this time the Spanish Government, the State Prosecutor, the US State Department and the three soldiers are all in the firing line.

(The above article appeared in The Morning Star on Wednesday December 22 2010)