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Judge defends probe
of alleged war crimes
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Spanish judge
Baltasar Garzon took to the stand to defend his attempt to investigate
crimes of the Franco dictatorship telling the court that victims
had a right to justice despite a 1977 amnesty.
Spanish judge
Baltasar Garzon argued that the investigation had been brought
following the same principles that allowed him to probe other
cases into human rights abuses
The crusading judge, who became world renowned for launching human
rights investigations including the crimes of former Chilean dictator
Augusto Pinochet, is accused of overstepping his judicial powers
for delving into Spain’s own dark past.
In a case that has divided Spain and seen streets filled with
protesters marching in support of the magistrate, Mr Garzon is
being prosecuted for ordering a 2008 investigation into the disappearance
of 114,000 people during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 and
ensuing 36-year dictatorship.
Called to the stand to give evidence to the panel of Supreme Court
judges he denied that the probe was politically motivated and
said he had simply been seeking truth and justice for the victims
of Franco’s brutal regime and their relatives.
”There was no ideology, but there were thousands and thousands
of victims who rights had not been dealt with,” he said.
He argued that the investigation had been brought following the
same principles that allowed him to probe other cases into human
rights abuses.
Those include the Pinochet case, which saw the former dictator
investigated for human rights abuses and led to his arrest in
London, and the successful prosecution against crimes carried
out under Argentina’s military junta.
”I accepted the investigation into Franco era-crimes on
the same basis of the Scilingo case from Argentina,” he
argued.
”We are talking about a systematic elimination ... and thousands
of those remain disappeared to this day,” he said of the
Francoist crimes.
His defence hinges on the argument that the Amnesty law of 1977
– brought in to reconcile relations between left and right
and smooth Spain’s transition to democracy – could
not cover mass human rights abuses.
”The amnesty law refers to crimes of a political nature,
in no way can it be said that crimes against humanity of the kind
that were alleged could have any political nature,” the
56-year-old judge said.
The civil case has been brought by privately by two extreme-right
organisations Limpios Manos – Clean Hands – and Liberty
and Identity.
State prosecutors had agreed with defence lawyers that the case
should be dismissed from the Supreme Court but the panel of seven
judges chose instead to uphold it.
Outside the courtroom hundreds of protesters had gathered to support
Mr Garzon. Among them were many relatives of victims of the Franco
era whose bodies still lie in unmarked graves on roadsides across
Spain.
They have branded this case, and two others in which Mr Garzon
faces being struck off for abuse of power, as part of a political
witch-hunt orchestrated to silence him.
”Baltasar Garzon showed today that his decision to take
up the investigation of the crimes of the Franco era was fully
supported by international law,” commented Reed Brody, a
lawyer from Human Rights Watch who is among a group of international
observers in the courtroom.
”But the spectacle of a judge as a criminal defendant, having
to justify his investigation into torture, killings and 'disappearances,’
was itself an affront to principles of human rights and judicial
independence,” he said.

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Spain's Olympic
Bid with a bizarre logo that says 20020
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Madrid launched
its bid to host the Olympic Games in 2020 on Monday unveiling
a logo that immediately sparked controversy and left many Spaniards
confused.
The logo was
designed by Luis Peiret, 22, a graphic arts student from Zaragoza
and chosen in a competition by the Spanish Olympic Committee
The design purportedly consists of the letter M for Madrid and
the number 20 in front of the coloured rings of the Olympics stylised
into arches inspired by the Madrid landmark, Puerta de Alcala.
But the lettering appears to show "20020", an effect
that has brought much derision in the Spanish press and on social
networking sites.
Within hours of the logo being unveiled the subject was trending
in Spain on Twitter with the majority of views expressed of the
negative variety.
One twitter user said it looked "like a display of flip-flops
for the beach" another said it resembled a "colourful
array of Bishops' mitres".
But most questioned whether Madrid was bidding for the "2020"
Olympic Games or the "20020".
"To me it is confusing and naff," tweeted Pedro J Ramirez,
the editor of El Mundo newspaper.
The logo was designed by Luis Peiret, 22, a graphic arts student
from Zaragoza and chosen in a competition by the Spanish Olympic
Committee.
Reports said he had intended the script to say M20 but when officials
modified the logo they trimmed the bottom of the design leading
to the visual confusion.
Bizarrely even the colours used to represent the Olympic Rings
were not faithful to the original with pink being chosen to replace
black, the colour meant to symbolise the African continent.
A poll on the website of Spain's leading daily newspaper El Pais
Monday afternoon asked readers how much they liked the new logo.
81 per cent replied: "not at all".
It will be the fourth bid for candidacy by Madrid which argues
that it is the largest European capital never to have played host.
Despite the deep economic crisis engulfing Spain, support for
the bid is strong with recent polls showing 84 per cent of Spaniards
wanting Madrid to play host while 91 per cent think it will create
new jobs.
"The Government is supporting the candidacy of the capital
for the 2020 Olympics," said Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría,
the country's Deputy Prime Minister.
"We want to give support to Madrid 2020 to help build the
momentum behind Brand Spain and help generate trust and confidence
in our country."
Other cities expected to apply on February 15 to host the 2020
Games include Tokyo, Rome, Istanbul, Baku in Azerbaijan and Doha
in Qatar.
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