Trial set for Spanish judge over war crimes probe

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish judge known for going after Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden will go on trial himself on Jan. 24 for allegedly overstepping his jurisdiction in a probe of Spanish Civil War crimes, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Judge Baltasar Garzon was indicted and suspended provisionally from his National Court post in 2010 for allegedly violating his jurisdiction by probing the execution or disappearance of civilians at the hands of supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during and after the 1936-39 war.

Those crimes were covered by an amnesty approved in 1977, two years after Franco died, as the country tried to put the pain of the war behind it and move toward …