A WELL-KNOWN SPANISH judge known for his landmark judgements in human rights cases has been barred from the bench after being convicted of ordering wiretaps of prison detainees.

Baltasar Garzón was found to have authorised illegal recordings of conversations between lawyers and detainees who were accused of paying off politicians from the Popular Party in exchange for money-spinning lucrative contracts.

The Spanish Supreme court said his actions – which were described as arbitrary – were similar to those which would only be currently found in totalitarian regimes.

The trial formed part of a broader probe into the finances of the Popular Party, which now governs in Spain.

Garzón has been barred from the bench for 11 years, and fined €2,500, but has escaped any jail time. He has pledged to appeal the rulings to the country’s Constitutional Court, and potentially to the European Court of Human Rights.

He is also involved in two other legal cases which could take years to conclude – including one which accuses him of ignoring a 1977 State-issued pardon in trying to examine the disappearance of 114,000 people during the civil war period.

In a third case, Garzón faces allegations that he was paid off to drop an investigation into the chief executive of the Santander banking group, Alfredo Sáenz. Saenz was last year banned from banking for life, but remains in his role.

Garzón is best known for his role in helping to ensure the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London and seeking his extradition, as well as investigating the Basque terrorist group ETA.