Spain protests against Franco-era immunity http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63N1NP20100424

Thousands of demonstrators took to streets across Spain on Saturday to protest against immunity for Civil War crimes and charges against a prominent judge for investigating deaths under Francisco Franco's 1939-1975 dictatorship.Protesters in support of High Court judge Baltasar Garzon, say charges against him are an assault on judicial independence.

He is accused by far-right parties of abusing his judicial powers by attempting to launch the first comprehensive investigation into Spain's 1936-1939 Civil War. Garzon came to the world's attention in 1998 when he issued an international arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for the alleged deaths and torture of Spanish citizens.

Demonstrations were staged in 20 Spanish cities on Saturday, as well as at Spanish embassies in London, Dublin, Brussels, Lisbon, Paris, Mexico and Buenos Aires.Crowds in central Madrid included human rights activists, actors, intellectuals and family members of victims. "There's still a big open wound in our democracy that needs to be healed," actor Antonio de la Torre, one of the event's organizers told Reuters by telephone.