Supreme Court confirms definitive expulsion of Baltasar Garzón from the judiciary
The high court dismisses the former judge's appeal and upholds the eleven-year ban imposed in 2012 for ordering illegal telephone taps on lawyers in the Gürtel case.
Supreme Court confirms definitive expulsion of Baltasar Garzón from the judiciary
The high court has ruled against former magistrate Baltasar Garzón, dismissing the appeal with which he sought to recover his position in the judiciary. The ruling, which will be made public in the coming days, upholds the sanction that removed him from office in 2012.
The conviction came after the court determined that Garzón had irregularly authorised the recording of telephone conversations of the lawyers representing the main suspects in the Gürtel corruption scandal. For these facts, the court imposed a sentence of eleven years without being able to serve as a judge or magistrate, in addition to the definitive loss of his position.
The former judge had appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee, which in July 2021 issued a favourable opinion alleging a violation of his rights. However, both the governing body of judges and now the high court have disregarded that international ruling.
The General Council of the Judiciary had previously confirmed the February 2012 decision that stripped him of his status as a member of the judiciary. The Supreme Court now endorses that ruling, ratifying the conviction for abuse of office and for illegally intercepting communications.
Source: ABC
Source: ABC