http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711538_009170386-1.jpgProtests have taken place in a dozen cities across Spain in support of a high-profile judge who launched an inquiry into atrocities committed during the Franco regime.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711539_009170361-1.jpgThousands gathered in Madrid in support ofBaltasar Garzon, who is accused of overreaching his powers by launching the inquiry.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711540_009170549-1.jpgA magistrate has ruled that the judge had acted without jurisdiction, and he now faces the prospect of a trial. The case against Mr Garzon comes after complaints by right-wing groups in Spain.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711541_009169952-1.jpgIn 2008, Mr Garzon ordered the exhumation of mass graves, but opponents claimed he had knowingly exceeded his powers by launching the probe into tens of thousands of disappearances during the 1936-1939 war.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711542_009169752-1.jpgEarlier this year Supreme Court investigating magistrate Luciano Varela ruled that Mr Garzon had ignored a 1977 amnesty that pardoned politically motivated crimes committed by both sides in the war.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711543_009170440-1.jpgMr Garzon appealed against the ruling, and on Saturday there was a march in Madrid against the judge by Falange Espanola, the fascist political party that backed the Franco regime.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711544_009170455-1.jpgBut Mr Varela insisted that the judge had been aware of his lack of jurisdiction, and the decision prompted angry scenes across the country on Saturday.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47711000/jpg/_47711545_009170570-2.jpgGarzon, who is popular with the Spanish political left and international human rights campaigners, denies breaking the law. He is famous for targeting international figures including Augusto Pinochet and Osama Bin Laden.
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