The man who tried to extradite Pinochet from Britain for human rights abuses faces professional exile in his native Spain
A number of countries around the world have reason to be grateful for the unstinting efforts of a Spanish judge who finds himself on trial. Judge Baltasar Garzón's 1998 attempt to extradite General Pinochet from Britain to face charges of human rights abuses relating to the 1973 coup in Chile brought two judgments from the law lords allowing his extradition, and sparked a similar round of cases in Santiago. His pursuit of thugs from Argentina's 1976-83 junta forced that country's courts to open their own investigations. The judge is today the target of three private prosecutions alleging he abused his powers – one over an investigation into the deaths of Spaniards executed by Franco's men. If successful, the only man to have been punished for Franco's crimes would be Judge Garzón himself. This smacks of political vendetta. It would be a travesty of justice if Spain's most famous judge were unable to work in his own land.