Andrew Hood reports from Velo News:
Hearings are set to begin January 28 in a Madrid courtroom and are scheduled through March 22...
...The presiding judge, however, will only consider issues relating to existing Spanish law at the time of the May 2006 police raids of offices and apartments in Madrid, Zaragoza and El Escorial.
That means the question of doping will not be directly addressed by the hearings because a law passed by Spanish authorities in the wake of the Puerto scandal that criminalized doping in sport was not yet on the books.
Instead, judge Julia Patricia Santamaría will only deliberate charges of “endangering public health.”
...While evidence initially pointed to a doping conspiracy thought to include athletes across several sports, including tennis, athletics and soccer, the judge formerly handling the case centered the investigation only on cycling.
This very much confirms what we already knew of Spanish authorities and anti doping anyway. Their legislation protects cheats by lenience and legal trickery.
ReplyDeleteSo only because a law did not exist at the time the crime was commited, it is not a crime?
Endangering public health? What the heck is THAT supposed to mean? Why then is blood doping by cycling more a public health hazard than say in Spanish tennis?
The judges name... I can't, really! I mean...
Mrs. Santamaria, our blessed virgin Mary, it's you freakin' job to save us from dopers and redeem us from doping!
Can WADA request more information and force Spain to go after ALL names mentioned on the list? Can WADA go after them, possibly maybe?
The legal acrobatics needed to avoid mentioning the names of three or four prominent Spanish athletes...
ReplyDeleteCould this be why Nadal is staying away from the spotlight? Maybe he's avoiding those uncomfortable questions during press conferences. Oh I forgot, the media never asks uncomfortable questions. But anyway, he could be getting sweaty palms at any rate.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that "public health" means the proper application of doping techniques. The article mentions that "They do not deny that the transfusions occurred; instead, lawyers will argue that Fuentes and his cohorts used the best available refrigerators, blood bags and centrifuge machines on the market."
ReplyDeleteSo, it appears at least in Spain, as long as you use the best doping techniques and drugs on the market, it is legal, or at least was back in 2006. But, if you used the cheap stuff, then you go to jail. I guess this is what Spanish authorities consider "clean." "Of course Spanish sport is clean, all of our doping equipment is sterilized!"
However, given this rather curious approach, it remains unclear why the allegations would be limited to cycling. If using old and unsterilized doping equipment was illegal for person A, it should also be illegal for person B -- it would make no difference what sport they happened to play.
Hopefully some of the Spanish readers of this blog can keep us updated on the progress of this case.
I take this to mean that the article we saw a few months back indicating that athletes in various sports may be linked to doping "within the next few months" (which presumably meant sometime in the January to March timeframe) as part of Operation Puerto has been superseded by this latest charade...
ReplyDelete"So only because a law did not exist at the time the crime was commited, it is not a crime?"
ReplyDeleteteam_kickass, laws are not retroactive in Spain. Mrs Santamaría cannot use the "new" law to judge this case. She HAS to judge it under the law at the time ("Endangering public health"), whether she likes it or not. That's a basic law principle.
Now whether ALL the names in that list will come out or not, it's another story...
The current Spanish Sports Minister and the President of the Spanish Olympic Commitee have publicly admitted just a few days ago that Operación Puerto and Operación Galgo have greatly tarnished Spain's image in the fight against doping, and said it is a top priority for them, especially considering that Madrid wants to host the Olympic Games in 2020. As a spaniard myself I hope they REALLY take it seriously, or at least more seriously than before. :rollseyes:
How on earth would doping "endanger public health"? The only risks I can see are those to the dopers, and every one of them knew what they were putting in their body, were presumably told what it would do, and did it voluntarily, not under duress. There's no "public health" risk I can see at all.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how it could end in anything but a mistrial/acquittal.
This trial looks to be no more than a farce staged to give the impression that the Spanish government is serious about anti-doping.