Untitled Document
A judge in Spain has issued an international arrest order for three
US soldiers whose tank fired at a Baghdad hotel during the war in Iraq, killing
a Spanish journalist.
 |
Couso was killed in Baghdad
on 8 April 2003 by a tank shell |
National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz issued the arrest warrant for
Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip de Camp, all of
the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division, a court official said on Wednesday.
Pedraz had sent two requests to the United States - in April 2004 and June
2005 - to have statements taken from the suspects or to obtain permission for
a Spanish delegation to quiz them. Both went unanswered.
The warrant "is the only effective measure to ensure the presence of the
suspects in the case being handled by Spanish justice, given the lack of judicial
cooperation by US authorities," the judge said.
Under Spanish law, a crime committed against a Spaniard abroad can be prosecuted
in Spain if it is not investigated in the country where it is committed.
Jose Couso, who worked for the Spanish television network Telecinco, died on 8
April 2003, after the tank crew fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad
where many journalists were staying to cover the war.
 |
Reuters cameraman Taras Portsyuk was rushed to hospital |
Reuters cameraman Taras Portsyuk, a Ukrainian, was also killed in the same
incident. The Spanish judge said he issued the arrest order because of a lack
of judicial cooperation from the US regarding the case.
Retaliation
US officials insist the soldiers believed they were being shot at when they
opened fire. Following the incident, the then US Secretary of State Colin Powell
said American troops opened fire after drawing hostile fire from the hotel.
He said a US review of the incident found the use of force was justified.
In late 2003, the National Court - acting on a request from Couso's family
- agreed to consider filing criminal charges against three members of the tank
crew.
Couso's attorney Pilar Hermoso welcomed the decision although she recognised
that it would be difficult to get the soldiers extradited to Spain, the state
news agency Efe reported.
Small protests over the killing have been staged outside the US Embassy in
Madrid nearly every month since Couso's death.
