Spain's Supreme Court on Thursday convicted high-profile judge Baltazar Garzon on charges of abusing his judicial powers and banned him from the legal profession for 11 years. Garzon had famously indicted former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden previously,
Garzon was accused of authorizing police for illegal interception of communications between lawyers and remand prisoners in connection with a corruption investigation involving politicians from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's People's party (PP) in Valencia and Madrid.
The judgment approved unanimously by the seven-member judges imposes "the definitive loss of the duty and the honors that he bears" as a judge of Spain's National Court. The decision also bars him from "obtaining during the duration of the sentence any employment or duty with judicial or governing functions within the judiciary."
Experts say the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday, which incidentally is not subject to appeal, effectively ends Garzon's career as a judge. His supporters demonstrated outside the court insisting that the charges against him are politically-motivated.
In a hearing held earlier this month, Garzon denied any wrong doing and told the court he has always protected the right of defendants for a fair trial. He said his actions were in accordance with a Spanish law that allows tapping of prison conversations involving suspects.
Although the law in question allows the interception of prison conversations involving terror suspects if the investigating judge believes that they would yield evidence relevant to an investigation, it is not so defined in the case of non-terrorism cases.
The trial on wire-tapping charges is the third private prosecution Garzon is facing. The second case, due to open on January 24, is based on charges that Garzon had exceeded his judicial powers when he ordered an investigation in 2008 into atrocities committed during and after the 1936-1939 Civil War in Spain.
Spain's supreme court charged Garzon in April 2010 with abuse of judicial power in connection with his investigations into the executions and disappearances of tens of thousands of civilians during the 1936-39 Civil War and the subsequent four decades of dictatorship under Gen. Francisco Franco.
The case against Judge Garzon is based on complaints filed by three Spanish right-wing groups, who argued that a 1977 amnesty covered all the crimes committed during the civil war and the subsequent dictatorship rule.
A month after the supreme court charged him, Spain's General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) that oversees the judiciary, suspended Garzon from his post as an investigating magistrate.
The third case against Garzon stems from allegations that he had received bribes in the form of payments from Santander Bank for conducting seminars at New York University, while he was investigating a complaint. No date has yet been set for the trial.
Garzon shot into prominence over the past decade for his campaigns against former Latin American dictators and several leaders of various international terror organizations. He used Spain's doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which allows trying suspects accused of heinous crimes like torture or terrorism even if they are committed elsewhere and have no direct links to Spain.
Garzon, who spent his early years investigating Basque separatist groups, had issued a warrant for the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet while in London in October 1998. However, Britain refused to extradite the Chilean dictator to Spain. He also indicted Osama Bin Laden in 2003 for the 2001 September terror attacks in the United States.
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