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| Europe |
| Spanish Judge wants to question U.S. troops on Iraq deaths |
| 2005-06-07 |
| MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish judge wants to question three U.S. soldiers as suspects in the death of a Spanish cameraman who was killed when a U.S. tank fired on a hotel housing foreign journalists during the 2003 assault on Baghdad. The Pentagon has found no fault with the soldiers, but High Court Judge Santiago Pedraz wants to question the three men who were in the tank, a court official said on Tuesday. Telecinco cameraman Jose Couso and Reuters cameraman Taras Protsiuk died and several other people were injured by a shell fired on the Palestine Hotel in the Iraqi capital on April 8, 2003, in the U.S.-led war to topple Saddam Hussein. The Spanish court would only have jurisdiction in the death of the Spanish citizen. The soldiers would be questioned as suspects for murder and for crimes against the international community, which carry sentences of 15 to years in jail and 10 to 15 years respectively. Pedraz on Tuesday agreed to send a request for U.S. cooperation in the investigation, but he is still only in the initial stages of the criminal investigation and several steps away from bringing charges. Pedraz's investigation stems from a complaint brought by the Couso family. Legal sources say the U.S. Army is unlikely to grant access to the soldiers, and if the case ever got far enough to warrant arrests the soldiers could only be arrested in Spain. The judge is willing to travel to the United States to take their statements, the court official said. A Pentagon report on the incident concluded U.S.-led forces bore "no fault or negligence." The Pentagon released a brief summary of the report in August 2003, which ruled that American forces acted "in an appropriate manner" when they fired into the hotel, but the full report was classified. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists obtained the 52-page report under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and said it strengthened its own finding that the hotel shelling could have been avoided. A U.S. Embassy spokesman had no immediate comment. |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #23 I don't think the Spanish want to go there. In response, why not set up an inquiry to assign blame and compensation for Spanish complicity in the Sept. 11 atrocity. Wasn't Spain the logistics hub for al Qaeda and plans for the attacks finalized there? I can easily see $100+ billion in compensation. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-06-08 00:01 |
| #22 That's all very well, TGA, but this is why Bush refuses to join the ICC. The U.S. Army investigated an accusation of misconduct against some of its troops, found no fault attached, and closed the case. Spain has no jurisdiction. And, especially, no right to demand a couple of American scapegoats to keep the noisy crowds content when they demand bread and circuses. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-07 23:42 |
| #21 I would not blame the judge too much, he is probably forced by Spanish law to investigate the death of Spanish citizens after a complaint had been filed. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-06-07 23:18 |
| #20 I wonder if this Andalusian dhimmi understands Greek? You want our GIs, Judge Lunacielago*? MOLON LABE! *Spanish for Moonbat |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2005-06-07 19:52 |
| #19 We should introduce judge Pedraz to our friend Diego, Diego Garcia. |
| Posted by: bigjimky 2005-06-07 18:07 |
| #18 well, Judge Pendejo can stick it |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-07 16:48 |
| #17 JFM - I stand corrected. Been hangin' out near the border too long. ;) |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-06-07 16:37 |
| #16 "Tu mama" is perhaps, Mexican, but not Spanish. In Spanish the big classics are "Tu puta madre" or "Me cago en tu madre". Often they are combined en "Me cago en tu puta madre". I will not translate because this is a family blog :-) Pronounciation: "u" as in 'cool' not as in 'cute' "e" as in 'pen' not as in 'me' "a" as in 'man' not as in 'mace' "o" as in 'Bond, James Bond' not as in 'bow' All the multisyllab words in the sentence have the tonic accent on the next to last syllab, putting it in the last syllab would make the gut believe you are French. :) |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-06-07 16:09 |
| #15 Blondie - if the hand gestures are anything like the Italian ones, I've got those down pat. ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-06-07 15:19 |
| #14 Barbara, the proper Castilian for that is "Jodete" (HO-day-tay), but a good "tu mama" would always work, especially when accompanied by the proper hand gestures. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-06-07 14:58 |
| #13 Um, "sod off swampy" comes to mind. The assholes were in a war zone in a country run as a dictatorship. No implied or unimplied protection exists. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-06-07 13:00 |
| #12 Should have added: "Expecting a BIG payout by the U.S." When scumbags are lookin' to get rich off a tragedy, naturally the logical target to aim at is the one with the deepest pockets. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-07 12:43 |
| #11 "Pedraz's investigation stems from a complaint brought by the Couso family." Should have added: "Expecting a BIG payout by the U.S." Nice to see the Spanish legal system is full of idiots just like ours. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-06-07 12:16 |
| #10 Hmmm almost more effort than they expended tracing the links of the madrid train bombers. Why aren't they attacking radical Islamism with the same zeal? |
| Posted by: anon1 2005-06-07 12:11 |
| #9 What's Spanish for "fuck YOU"? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-06-07 11:53 |
| #8 Rummy should tell them to come to Manila Bay to collect them for questioning. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2005-06-07 11:08 |
| #7 Nah raptor, you've already got it right. Just say "Pound Sand" and let THEM look it up, the fuckwits. Time to stand all of this shit upright. It's been upside-down and backasswards long enough. Fuck this Tranzi noise. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-06-07 11:03 |
| #6 How do you say"Pound sand"in Spainish? El Poundo Sando ????? |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2005-06-07 11:01 |
| #5 How do you say"Pound sand"in Spainish? |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-06-07 10:58 |
| #4 Here we go again with the Palestine Hotel incident. The TC who ordered the gunner to fire has already been awarded the Bronze Star, so I doubt this is going anywhere. Two other European journalists were killed a couple of days before the Palestine hotel incident. Since it was an Iraqi rocket that killed them, no inquiry has ever been suggested, AFAIK.. |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-06-07 10:48 |
| #3 It was a war zone! Not a crime scene! Can't they switch mindsets? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-06-07 10:45 |
| #2 If the journalists stop working with the people trying to kill our troops, this wouldn't happen. Sorry 'ol chum, but you get killed when you with people trying to kill our boys. They shoot back. Accurately. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-06-07 10:37 |
| #1 Sure it could have been avoided. The journalists could have stayed home. Or we could have left Saddam in power so the journalists could continue to avoid reporting on his sadistic abuses and the threat he posed. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-06-07 10:34 |