Spanish judge slams government's regression on human rights justice

On Tuesday, members of the Spanish Parliament had voted to usher in a reform that would impede judges from probing crimes outside of the country's borders drastically. The latest move of the Spanish government have ired a local judge who made headlines across the globe for pursuing foreign dictators and holding them accountable for their crimes.

Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, who issued a ruling to arrest Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998 for human abuse violations, expressed his disappointed with his own government, calling the reform as absurd in an interview with the Guardian.

"The conditions that they're imposing are so exorbitant that it would be almost impossible to prosecute these crimes," Garzón stated, adding that judges will no longer be able to launch investigations on foreign crimes against humanity.

The reform, which was introduced by Spain's governing People's party last month, has a mandate that universal jurisdiction will only be applied when the defendant is a citizen of Spain or a foreign national who has taken residence in Spain. It is expected that the law will be passed in the next few months, and when implemented will bar interest groups in bringing cases forward.

For over twenty years, judges in Spain have used the doctrine of universal jurisdiction to launch human rights abuse probes in countries, which include Guatemala, Chad and Argentina, the Guardian said. The reform was spurred by a backlash the Spanish government received from China regarding the former's use of the universal jurisdiction doctrine. Just this week, a Spanish court ruled that Interpol arrest five Chinese leaders, which include former president Jiang Zemin, for their alleged human rights abuses in Tibet years ago, the UK newspaper said.

Garzón said about the accusation by China and the need for Spain to prioritize economic gain over international justice, "The economic crisis has put us in a dire situation. but I don't believe the solution to all of our problems lies in negotiating with China and not demanding that they comply with human rights standards. These are the principles on which civilization is built," he said. "Sometimes upholding and maintaining the principles of dignity for human beings comes at a cost."

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Spanish Parliament, Spain, Baltasar Garzon

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