Judge Garzón Suspended: Dark Day for Justice…

… not just in Spain, not just in Europe, but  any place in the world and for anyone who thinks that in a “global” world justice also should be a worldwide affair. And now antediluvian fascist phalanges that should have disappeared with General Franco, allied with modern money’d groups & political parties thriving on graft are doing their nasty best to stop the one person who has tried to mete out such justice, as when Garcón had Pinochet arrested & tried.

A dark day for justice in Spain — Judge Garzón has just been suspended. Forward this message to everyone you know right now so they can join the 100,000-strong outcry for justice and human rights! We will deliver this campaign to the President of the Judiciary Council when we hit another 50,000 signatures:

Dear friends across Spain,

It´s amazing! Over 100,000 of us have already signed a petition to calling for justice in the cases against Garzón. Forward this email widely and let’s deliver 150,000 signatures to the President of the Supreme Court and the Council of the Judiciary in the next few days:

Judge Garzón is to be tried on charges that could end his career, inflicting a fresh blow to the credibility of our justice system.

The main charge, brought by extreme right lobby groups, is that he violated the 1977 Amnesty Law by investigating crimes against humanity — including the disappearance of tens of thousands of people, during the civil war and its aftermath. But crimes against humanity cannot be amnestied under international law.

The Supreme Court now faces a historic choice: uphold the rule of law, or allow ideology and impunity to triumph over justice. They are under enormous pressure to bring Garzón down, but a massive public outcry could tip the balance. More than 100,000 of us have already raised our voices for democracy and universal human rights — let’s deliver a 150,000-strong petition to the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary. Take action below and forward this email widely now.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_garzon_1/?vl

Whatever we think of Garzon, he has gained a reputation for his relentless efforts to seek justice, pursue brutal dictators, terrorists, drug mafias and corrupt politicians.

But the Supreme Court has admitted three complaints against him, two of which could impact on two crucial investigations for our democracy: the case of crimes against humanity, and the Gürtel case, one of the largest bribery and corruption scandals in our recent history.

The crimes against humanity case is straight forward — these crimes are of such gravity that international law does not permit accused perpetrators to hide behind national amnesty laws, even if this law played a role at the time of our political transition.

If Garzón is convicted on such charges the court will be undermining their commitment to universal human rights and with it our faith in the judicial system. Act now! Share this message with all your friends and family:

This petition is about all of us, beyond our political or party allegiances, defending our democracy, which is already weakened by an acute economic and political crisis and a plague of corruption. Only through bold citizens’ actions can we ensure that our political leaders and institutions work for the common good. This is our moment! Forward this email widely now:

With determination,

Luis, Alice, Benjamin, Maria Paz, Iain, Ricken, Paul and the entire Avaaz team.

More information:

The Guardian, “Judge Baltasar Garzón suspended over Franco investigation”:

The New York Times, “An Injustice in Spain”

The Financial Times, “Garzón at bay”

The Economist, “Judge Not”.

The Globe and Mail, “Political storm over Spain’s most famous judge”

Crimes of War Project: “Spain’s Memory War: Judge Halts Attempt to Enforce Justice for Franco’s Killings”

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