Baltasar Garzon was suspended from his post Friday ahead of his trial for abuse of power linked to a probe of Franco-era crimes, judicial sources said.

The body that oversees the judiciary, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), decided unanimously to suspend Garzon, two days after the Supreme Court cleared the way for his trial.

Garzon is accused of abuse of power for opening an investigation in 2008 into the disappearance of tens of thousands of people during the 1936-39 civil war and General Francisco Franco’s right-wing dictatorship.

The case follows a complaint by far-right groups that the probe ignored an amnesty law passed in 1977, two years after Franco’s death, for crimes committed under the general’s rule.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday removed the last obstacle to Garzon’s trial over the case, although no date had been set. If convicted he would avoid prison but could be suspended for up to 20 years, which would effectively end the career of the 54-year-old.

Garzon has argued that the disappearances constituted crimes against humanity and were therefore not covered by the amnesty.

Human Rights Watch condemned the CGPJ’s decision.

“This is a sad day for the cause of human rights. Garzon was instrumental in delivering justice for victims of atrocities abroad and now he is being punished for trying to do the same at home,” Reed Brody, the rights group’s legal counsel, said in a statement.

“Garzon’s decision not to apply Spain’s amnesty, for which he is being prosecuted, is supported by international law, which impose on states a duty to investigate the worst international crimes, including crimes against humanity.

“Thanks to Garzon, Spain became a symbol of justice for atrocity victims around the world. Now justice itself has become the victim in Spain.”