Dr Eufemiano Fuentes case watch

[alienator]

Help me understand how or why the judge would make such a ruling concerning destruction of evidence.  I can appreciate that if doping wasn't a crime under Spanish law at the time the evidence was taken, there would be no more federal charges against any athlete.  But why should the court not hand over the evidence to the Spanish anti-drug agency (AEA?) to use as they see fit?  Even if there were some outside influences on the judge, she must have some legal logic to justify the decision.  Wonder if the average sports fan on the streets of Madrid or Barcelona even cares about Operation Puerto anymore.  All this must seem pretty insignificant now in a country in the midst of a severe recession....maybe depression is the more accurate word. 

You might have to ask someone knowledgeable on Spanish law that question. Perhaps there was a legal reason that the blood could not be handed over. Remember that the feds were prevented by law from providing certain assistance to USADA's investigation.

 

[dhk2]

Originally Posted by alienator .


You might have to ask someone knowledgeable on Spanish law that question. Perhaps there was a legal reason that the blood could not be handed over. Remember that the feds were prevented by law from providing certain assistance to USADA's investigation.

Thinking about it a bit more, can see how their are may be some legal or civil rights concerns here. The state used its judicial authority to seize blood and evidence for criminal prosecution of the doctor et al, not for doping-control purposes against individual athletes, and not to serve the anti-doping agencies. They already have an established and extensive set of testing protocols for obtaining and handling blood samples with the athlete's pre-consent.

 

[alienator]

Interestingly, the Spanish are moving toward making doping illegal. The interesting part is that Spain is considered a relatively safe haven for dopers and has taken, IMHO, the worst criticism of any country for their doping laxity, all the while the US has no interest in making doping illegal (unless I'm misinterpreting US laws here....). With Spain making said move, I'd expect light shone on the US to be a bit more harsh, or at least I hope it would be.