Spanish judge's trial over wartime probe ends

The Spanish judge famous for pursuing human rights crimes across borders says his conscience is clear as his trial for probing civil war atrocities at home came to a close.

Judge Baltasar Garzon made his comments Wednesday in his final statement to a seven-judge panel at the Supreme Court.

Garzon said he launched his 2008 investigation of right-wing killings and disappearances of more than 100,000 civilians in the 1936-39 war because he felt victims had been neglected.

He faces charges of overstepping his jurisdiction because such crimes were covered by an amnesty passed in 1977.

The trial started Jan. 24, and for the first time a Spanish court heard oral testimony from people who lost relatives to Gen. Francisco Franco's victorious rightwing forces.

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