The Public Prosecutor for the Spanish National Law Courts opposed handing over Franco-era torturers to an Argentinean judge over an international arrest warrant.

It was Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón, who had led the way to take legal action, using international law when he went after the Chilean, ex dictator, Augusto Pinochet. Readers will remember how the British Foreign Minister had refused to hand over Pinochet to Spain, over-ruling the British High Court, and returning him to Chile.

The reason given was because Pinochet was “too ill to stand trial” yet no sooner had his plane touched down on Chilean soil and the ‘poorly’ Pinochet wheeled out onto the tarmac in his wheelchair, he ‘miraculously no longer needed it and nimbly walked amongst his gathered admirers. This image that was televised all around the world and did not do much for Jack Straw’s credibility.

During the months that Pinochet was under house arrest in London, the Spanish Government under Aznar did all they could to block the judges efforts to have him extradited. The Public Prosecutor pronounced that he was against the extradition, for example, but the right-wing government in Madrid did not dare to actually override the judicial system (as the British ended up doing).

The fact was the judge, Garzón had also extradited successfully Argentinean military torturers to Spain to stand trial and bring about a conviction despite an Argentinean amnesty law imposed by the outgoing military government upon the incoming civilian one: national amnesties cannot override international law.

So, here we are in 2013 and Argentina returns to favour and a judge does what no Spanish judge will dare to do, put arrest warrants out on state torturers under Franco’s regime. In the 1970’s an amnesty law was proclaimed unanimously as part of the regime’s demands before giving way to democracy and civilian rule. Ostentatiously, it covered exiled republicans who had lived out of the reach of Franco during his reign, but in reality it was to protect the legions of criminals belonging to the regime.

The Argentinean judge, María Servini, placed an international arrest warrant through Interpol on ex members of Franco’s police and military forces, two of whom are already dead but one, with the nickname of Billy el Niño, is alive an kicking; he was, according to his victims, the most sadistic of all of them.

Unfortunately, in this aspect, Spain has a conservative government under the Partido Popular again, a party that refuses to condemn the post-civil-war repression meted out during decades. Bearing that in mind, it is hardly a surprise that the political post of Public Prosecutor opposes the extradition of Franco-era torturers to stand trial.

The Public Prosectuor, Carlos Bautista, echoing the tactic of the Chief Public Prosecutor, Javier Zaragoza, considers that the Spanish 1970’s amnesty law prevents prosecution, as well as that it was all too long ago. International law disagrees: Nazi war criminals in their late 90’s are still being brought to justice.

(News: Spain)