Spanish judge joins war protest

Spanish judge joins war protest

Garzon (r): The war is an act of madness

Several thousand people have gathered for an open-air concert in the centre of Madrid, in the latest of a series of protests against the Spanish Government's support for the war in Iraq.

Around 20 Spanish artists are expected to perform at the event, which is also being attended by public figures such as the prominent anti-terrorist judge Baltasar Garzon.

Mr Garzon criticised the government position, which it has held to despite polls showing opposition to the war running at about 90%.

He said the war was an "act of madness", declaring the UN was being "destroyed by thousands of bombs and missiles launched through an arbitrary, unilateral decision".

Mr Garzon, who is best known for his attempts to bring former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to trial in Spain and for targeting Basque separatists, is said to rarely speak in public.

Protests are a daily occurrence in Turkey

Meanwhile in Greece, AFP news agency reported that thousands of anti-war demonstrators have clashed with police outside a Nato naval base on the island of Crete.

And in Bangladesh at least 30,000 people demonstrated in the port city of Chittagong, waving black flags and burning effigies of US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

City mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury said he would send volunteers to take part in a "jihad" against the US-led forces unless hostilities ended.

In other protests around the world:

• About 15,000 Muslims held demonstrations in Indonesia - most in the East Javan city of Kediri

• Hundreds of Pakistanis held rallies in the cities of Lahore and Multan, and larger gatherings are expected in Karachi, in the country's 18th day of continuous protest against the war

• Thousands of Turks gathered in a square in Istanbul to protest against the war.