Spanish Judge Orders Arrest & Extradition of U.S. Soldiers in Death of Spanish Journalist

A Spanish court has issued international arrest warrants for three U.S. soldiers connected to the killing of Spanish tv cameraman Jose Couso in Iraq.

On April 8 2003, the U.S. military opened fire on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, killing two journalists: Taras Protsyuk, a Reuters cameraman from Ukraine, and Couso who worked for the Spanish TV network, Telecinco.

On Wednesday, the Spanish judge Santiago Pedraz issued arrest warrants for Lt. Col. Philip de Camp, Captain Philip Wolford and Sgt. Shawn Gibson all of the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division. The judge also requested the soldiers be extradited to Spain.

The soldiers have not been formally indicted but if they were brought to trial they could face jail sentences of up to 20 years for murder and "crimes against the international community".

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.

In a statement issued to Democracy Now, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Barry Venable defended the actions of the American troops in Iraq.

He said "U.S. Central Command fully investigated the incident and determined that the U.S. service members acted appropriately during that combat action."

Venable also said the Pentagon has "cooperated previously with the Spanish Government, including by providing information concerning the incident and resulting investigation."

But Spanish officials disagree. The arrest warrant said the U.S. had provided "no judicial cooperation" in trying to resolve the death.

After the judge issued the arrest warrants, Jose Couso's borhter, Javier held a press conference in Madrid.

* Javier Couso, brother of slain journalist Jose Couo, speaking to reporters in Madrid Wednesday.
* Maribel Permuy Lopez, mother of Jose Couso. She was interviewed in Washington D.C. on Sept. 24 at the antiwar march.

We turn now to the documentary, "Hotel Palestine: Killing the Witness," produced by Jose Couso's network, Telecinco, and broadcast on Spanish TV. It includes interviews with numerous journalists who were inside the Palestine Hotel, the AP reporter embedded with US forces at the time of the attack as well as two of the soldiers named in the warrants as well as two of the soldiers wanted in Spain, Shawn Gibson and Lt. Col. Philip de Camp.

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/20/1410259