Spain’s Supreme Court convicted judge Baltasar Garzon in an illegal wiretapping case, crushing the career of a man who won world renown for pursuing human rights abuses.

The Spanish judge famed for pursuing international human rights cases has been convicted of overstepping his jurisdiction in a domestic corruption probe.

The Spanish judge known for investigating crimes against humanity took the stand in his own trial, rejecting charges that he had overstepped his jurisdiction by probing right-wing atrocities linked to the Spanish civil war.

Brandishing black and white photographs of dead parents, scores of angry Spaniards rallied to condemn the High Court for putting on trial the judge who tried to inv-estigate their relatives’ fates.

A SPANISH judge who became an international human rights hero by indicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet yesterday denied any wrongdoing as he went on trial over his handling of a domestic corruption probe.

THOUSANDS of babies disappeared over a 40-year period in Spain, stolen from their mothers and handed over for adoption by the state and the Catholic Church.

THE crusading Spanish judge who brought charges against Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was suspended yesterday, a possible end to his career.

The crusading Spanish judge who brought charges against Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was suspended today, a possible end to his career.

SPAIN’S most prominent judge, already charged with abuse of power in a potentially career-ending indictment, denied any wrongdoing as he testified yesterday as a suspect in a separate bribery investigation that has compounded his woes.

THE Spanish judge who became an international hero by going after Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was indicted yesterday for daring to investigate what is arguably Spain’s own biggest unresolved case — atrocities committed during and after its Civil War.

A Spanish court will consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer said.

A Spanish judge opened a criminal investigation into the country’s civil war atrocities today, the first official inquiry into one of the darkest chapters of its history.

A Spanish judge started proceedings against 40 members of the Rwandan military today on charges of terrorism and genocide.

THIRTY men have gone on trial for allegedly plotting to blow up a court that is the hub of Spain’s anti-terror investigations.

Thirty people went on trial today accused of plotting to blow up a Spain’s main anti-terror court with a bomb that could have killed 1,000 people.

A Spanish judge jailed 17 members of Batasuna – the banned political wing of the armed separatist group ETA.

A judge today began questioning 23 senior members of Batasuna – the banned political wing of the armed separatist group ETA – arrested in raids in the northern Basque region.

A senior member of the Basque separatist movement said the arrest of 23 of his fellow party members amounted to a “declaration of war” by the Spanish government.

The entire top leadership of an outlawed Basque political party linked to Spanish terrorist group ETA have been arrested in a police raid.

A Spanish judge ordered six people to be held in jail on provisional charges of belonging to a terrorist group, while freeing six others, the National Court in Madrid said today.

The former Chilean dictator remained stubbornly opposed to any efforts to bring him to trial, writes Chris Moncrieff.

Spanish police today arrested two suspected members of an Islamic extremist group who are believed to have had a role in the Casablanca bombings of 2003.

FIFTY-SIX people went on trial yesterday on charges of raising money and engaging in other activities for Basque separatist group ETA through a network of social and political groups.

Fifty six people went on trial in Madrid today on charges of directing the logistical side of the Basque separatist group Eta’s battle for an independent homeland, raising funds, forging passports and helping commandos communicate with one another.

A suspected al-Qaida cell leader was today convicted of conspiring to commit murder in connection with the September 11 attacks in the United States and sentenced to 15 years in jail by a Spanish court, while two other suspects were acquitted.

Mar Roman, Madrid

An alleged al-Qaida militant cried today after taking the stand on charges that he belonged to a cell accused of helping plot the September 11 attacks, and he said he had testified in Spain under duress.

A co-defendant told police that a key al-Qaida suspect – who earlier this week called himself a peace-loving moderate Muslim – is a radical who recruited men for “holy war” training in Afghanistan, according to testimony read to a Madrid court today.

A terror suspect who allegedly shot detailed video footage of the World Trade Centre – images described by a Spanish judge as the genesis of the September 11 plots – took the stand today at the trial of an al-Qaida cell accused of helping to plot the suicide airliner attacks.

A suspected Muslim extremist accused of helping to plot the September 11 attacks in the United States said today he had never even heard of al-Qaida until he was arrested four years ago on suspicion of leading one of its cells.

Twenty-four men will go on trial in Spain today as suspected members of an al-Qaida cell charged with using their new homeland as a staging ground for the September 11, 2001, attacks.

SPAIN’S High Court sentenced a former Argentinean navy captain to 640 years in jail yesterday for crimes against humanity, convicting him of throwing political prisoners from planes in Argentina’s dirty war.

A former Argentine navy officer who once admitted to throwing drugged, naked dissidents to their death from airplanes during his country’s “dirty war” recanted as he took the stand yesterday at his trial in Madrid on charges of genocide, torture and terrorism.

A Spanish judge indicted eight people on terrorism charges today, saying they had provided logistical help and false documents for suspects in the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

A FORMER Argentinian naval officer, who has admitted throwing 30 drugged, naked dissidents off aircraft into the Atlantic during his country’s Dirty War, went on trial for genocide in Spain yesterday.

A former Argentinian naval officer, who has admitted throwing 30 drugged, naked dissidents off aircraft into the Atlantic during his country’s Dirty War, went on trial for genocide in Spain today.

A former Argentinian navy officer went on trial in Madrid today on charges of genocide, torture and terrorism committed during his country’s “dirty war” more than two decades ago.

Four suspected Islamic militants arrested in the Canary Islands arrived in Madrid under heavy guard today, an official said.

An appeals court today stripped former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution for a 1974 car bombing that killed an exiled general.

The suspected leader of a Muslim cell that allegedly plotted to blow up Spain’s National Court in Madrid hoped to kill senior judges and destroy massive case files on Islamic terror probes, officials said today.

Seven North Africans arrested by Spanish police were plotting a major bombing attack against the National Court, a hub of Spain’s investigations of Islamic terrorism, newspapers reported today.

Osama bin Laden is not able to order operations from his hideout in Central Asia and focuses solely on trying to evade capture, one of Europe’s top anti-terrorism officials said Friday.

Morocco – home to most of the suspects in the Madrid train bombing – is teeming with some 100 al-Qaida-linked cells that are capable of suicide attacks, and pose Europe’s biggest terrorist threat, Spain’s leading anti-terrorism judge has testified.