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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Spanish justice minister resigns | Spanish justice minister resigns |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Spain's justice minister has announced his resignation after being criticised for going on a hunting trip with a prominent investigative judge. | Spain's justice minister has announced his resignation after being criticised for going on a hunting trip with a prominent investigative judge. |
| Mariano Fernandez Bermejo was accused of interfering in a probe by Judge Baltasar Garzon into alleged corruption in the opposition Popular Party. | Mariano Fernandez Bermejo was accused of interfering in a probe by Judge Baltasar Garzon into alleged corruption in the opposition Popular Party. |
| Mr Fernandez Bermejo said he could not "tolerate the use being made of this against" the Socialist government. | |
| On Friday, Mr Garzon was taken to hospital following an anxiety attack. | On Friday, Mr Garzon was taken to hospital following an anxiety attack. |
| He is one of six investigating judges for Spain's National Court which, like many other European countries, operates an inquisitorial system, as opposed to the adversarial system used by the US and UK. | He is one of six investigating judges for Spain's National Court which, like many other European countries, operates an inquisitorial system, as opposed to the adversarial system used by the US and UK. |
| Mr Garzon came to prominence in the late 1990s, when he campaigned for the extradition of former Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet, from London to Spain for human rights abuses. | Mr Garzon came to prominence in the late 1990s, when he campaigned for the extradition of former Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet, from London to Spain for human rights abuses. |
| 'Untimely' | |
| At a news conference in Madrid on Monday, Mr Fernandez Bermejo said he had submitted his resignation for the good of his cabinet and party colleagues. | |
| "I can't tolerate the use being made of this against those of us who are working for the ideals of the Socialist government," he said. | |
| Francisco Caamano, the secretary of state for relations with parliament, was named as Mr Fernandez Bermejo's replacement. | |
| Mr Fernandez Bermejo has said it was an "untimely" coincidence that he and Mr Garzon had attended a hunting trip in Andalucia earlier this month, though he said he had barely even greeted the judge. | |
| He also apologised for hunting in a region where he does not have a licence, an offence which could lead to a fine of up to 4,000 euros (£3,500). | |
| The outing came a day after Mr Garzon had ordered the arrest of several business people and members of the Popular Party as part of a corruption probe. | |
| Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy has accused Mr Fernandez Bermejo of using the investigation for political purposes ahead of regional elections in the Basque Country and Galicia on Sunday. | |
| The justice minister has also been criticised for his handling of last week's unprecedented strike by judges over their working conditions. |