Spain: Judge appeals Civil War probe indictment

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A Spanish judge known for indicting Osama bin Laden and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet lodged an appeal Saturday against his own indictment for abuse of power in initiating a probe into Spain's Civil War atrocities.

Baltasar Garzon's lawyer, Gonzalo Martinez-Fresneda, presented the appeal before the Supreme Court and supplied copies to The Associated Press.

Garzon was charged April 7 by the court's magistrate Luciano Varela with knowingly acting beyond his jurisdiction by launching the probe in 2008. He had begun looking into tens of thousands of wartime and postwar executions and disappearances attributed to forces loyal to Gen. Francisco Franco, despite the crimes being covered by an amnesty decreed in 1977.

The appeal claims the indictment is "contrary to law and implies a serious challenge to judicial independence."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iesgu4jiTSyohl8AS5cMZcT-yJiAD9F0B92G1

Is this amnesty law even valid? It is not mentioned in the post-Franco constitution after the country transitioned to democracy, and it is also in contradiction of several treaties that Spain is a signatory to.