Pinochet judge on trial over prison wiretaps

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.

Baltasar Garzon, a defendant at Spain’s Supreme Court, is charged with knowingly overstepping his jurisdiction by ordering the wiretaps of prison conversations between detainees and their lawyers. This is allowed in terrorism cases, but Spanish law is less clear on non-terror cases.

“Obviously, the interpretation that I make,” Garzon testified, “is that wiretaps can be authorised with a court order and not just in cases of terrorism.”