Spanish court shelves case against US soldiers for death in Iraq

13 May 2008

MADRID – Spain’s National Court on Tuesday shelved a case against three US soldiers for the death of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso, who was killed when a US tank fired at a Baghdad hotel where journalists were staying in April 2003 during the Iraq war.

The court said there was not sufficient evidence to continue the investigation, accepting the stance of prosecutors who had argued that Couso was killed within the framework of an act of war.

A judge had earlier indicted Sergeant Thomas Gibson, who fired on the hotel, Lieutenant Colonel Philip de Camp, who gave the order to fire, and Captain Philip Wolford, the commander of the unit.

Couso, who worked for the television station Telecinco, and a Ukrainian Reuters cameraman were killed in the attack. The United States has maintained that the soldiers acted appropriately in circumstances of war.

[dpa / Expatica]