Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon declared Wednesday his conscience was clear on the final day of his trial for allegedly overreaching his powers by probing Franco-era atrocities.

Garzon, 56, who won global renown by trying to extradite Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet from London in 1998, gave his final testimony in the trial, which has exposed the wounds Spain still bears from its Civil War and the ensuing dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

"My conscience is clear because I took the decisions that I thought were in keeping with the law... to investigate the mass crimes of the disappearance of people," he told the Supreme Court in Madrid.
"A judge's duty is to give protection to the victims... who are the main element in this type of crime."

The trial wrapped up after his final plea and no date for sentencing was set immediately.

Garzon is accused of abuse of power for trying to investigate the disappearance of some 114,000 people during the war and Franco's dictatorship, in an alleged breach of an amnesty. The court agreed to try Garzon in a suit brought against him by two right-wing groups, though Spain's public prosecutor has called for the case to be dismissed.

Judicial independence?

Prosecutor Luis Navajas said Wednesday that "a conviction would in my judgment have a devastating effect" and "threaten the principal of independence of the judiciary".

Garzon's supporters, including scores of demonstrators who have protested outside the court during the two-week trial, have alleged that the court itself is biased in the case. About 100 of them gathered outside the court on Wednesday, shouting: "We have memory, we want justice," and "Garzon, friend, we are with you."

The two-week trial heard testimonies from descendants of people killed during the Civil War, who say their relatives lie in mass graves.

If convicted of exceeding his authority Garzon could be suspended from the legal profession for 20 years, putting an end to his career.

Navajas recalled that a judge in Argentina, Maria Servini de Cubria, is separately investigating crimes of the Franco era, under a judicial justification to probe crimes against humanity in other countries. In this context, he said, "it would be pathetic and ridiculous" to try Garzon for doing the same in Spain.

A group of United Nations experts including Gabriela Knaul, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, voiced concern about the trial, in a statement on Wednesday.

"It is regrettable that Judge Garzon could be punished for opening an investigation which is in line with Spain's obligations to investigate human rights violations in accordance with international law principles," Knaul said. "In the context of full respect for the independence and autonomy of the judiciary, supposed errors in judicial decisions should not be a reason for the removal of a judge and, even less, for a criminal proceeding to be launched."