Garzón fails in bid to overturn second court suspension

MADRID (El Pais) The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the petition of Baltasar Garzón to throw out the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ)'s April 19 order to suspend him from his duties over the High Court judge's use of wiretaps on inmates and their lawyers linked to the ongoing investigation into the Gürtel corruption network. The Supreme Court rejected all of Garzón's arguments against a second suspension. The judge has been under disciplinary leave since May, 2010 after the same court ruled that he had exceeded his brief in launching an investigation into crimes against humanity committed during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco.Garzón had argued that it was futile to suspend a judge already under suspension. The CGPJ is expected to ratify his suspension today.

Garzón files complaint against Spain's Supreme Court at Human Rights Court

SPAIN/EUROPE (Agencies) Judge Baltasar Garzón has filed a suit at the European Court of Human Rights in which he questions the procedure against him by the Supreme Court of Spain, in which he is accused of malfeasance for declaring his competence for investigating the crimes committed during the Franco era. In his suit for violation of the principal of judicial independence, the judge alleges that there is a violation of the freedom of interpretation of the law because "the victims are defenceless," among other things. Judge Garzón was suspended from his function at the National Court and is presently an advisor to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In his suit, he is represented by Interights, an organization based in London that specialises in international litigation on human rights cases.>

Wikileaks: Worried Washington had eyes on Garzón

SPAIN/USA (El País/Jesús Duva/Carlos Cué) The American Embassy in Madrid has been keeping a close eye on the High Court, and in particular on the judges and attorneys involved in US-related issues. Secret documents leaked by Wikileaks show that one of the magistrates under closest surveillance was Baltasar Garzón, above all because of the possibility he might open legal proceedings against US officials for the torture of prisoners at the Guantánamo detention center.>