By now most of us have heard about this story Spanish judge to hear torture case against six Bush officials
"Criminal proceedings have begun in Spain against six senior officials in the Bush administration for the use of torture against detainees in Guantánamo Bay. Baltasar Garzón, the counter-terrorism judge whose prosecution of General Augusto Pinochet led to his arrest in Britain in 1998, has referred the case to the chief prosecutor before deciding whether to proceed".
One small way we can get this story some attention is to become a fan of Mr. Garzon on facebook. I think we all realize that President Obama is not going to do anything to hold the previous administration accountable for their crimes unless he is forced to. I think the action of the international community is the best chance for this to happen. I can't say it will change the world, but I'm getting a little sick and tired of writing and calling congresspeople about this stuff and getting nowhere. Lets try something new.
Link here:
http://www.facebook.com/...
Some background on this courageous man.
Baltasar Garzón Real (born October 26, 1955 in Torres, Jaén, Spain) is a judge in Spain. Garzón currently sits on Spain's criminal court (he is examining magistrate of the Juzgado Central de Instrucción, n.º 5, which investigate the most important criminal cases in Spain, that will be later judged by the Audiencia Nacional or the Spanish Central Criminal Court). He has been the subject of controversy.
Garzón came to international attention on October 10, 1998 when he issued an international warrant for the arrest of former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet over the alleged deaths and torture of Spanish citizens during his tenure; the Chilean Truth Commission (1990-91) report was the basis for the warrant, marking an unprecedented use of universal jurisdiction to attempt to try a former dictator for an international crime. Eventually it was turned down by British Home Secretary Jack Straw, who refused Garzón's request to have Pinochet extradited to Spain on grounds of Pinochet's health.
He has repeatedly expressed a desire to investigate former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in connection with a plot in the 1970s known as Operation Condor.[1]
In April 2001 he requested that the Council of Europe to remove the immunity from prosecution enjoyed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy as a member of the Council's parliamentary assembly. This was rejected.
Garzón also filed charges of genocide against Argentine military officers on the disappearance of Spanish citizens during Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship. Eventually Adolfo Scilingo and Miguel Angel Cavallo were prosecuted in separate cases. Scilingo was convicted and sentenced to over 1000 years incarceration for his crimes.[2]
At one point, Garzón had a public and very heated argument with Subcomandante Marcos, leader of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) over the sovereignty of the Basque Country. [3]
In December 2001, Garzón launched an inquiry into the offshore accounts of Spain's second largest bank BBVA for alleged money laundering offences. In January 2003, he fiercely criticised the United States government over the detention of al-Qaida suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He also campaigned strongly against the 2003 Iraq war.
Garzón issued indictments for five Guantanamo detainees, including Spaniard Abderrahman Ahmad. Ahmad was extradited to Spain on February 14, 2004.