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Europe
Spain dismisses case of cameraman killed in Iraq
2009-07-16
MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish court said on Tuesday it had dismissed a case against three U.S. soldiers charged with the death in Iraq of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso.

During the U.S. invasion, Sergeant Thomas Gibson, Captain Philip Wolford and Lieutenant Colonel Phil de Camp fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad on April 8, 2003, killing Telecinco cameraman Jose Couso and Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk, a Ukranian.

The court said the investigating magistrate had presented one-sided evidence, such as witness accounts from Spanish journalists, and left out the soldiers' claims they fired because they thought they saw a spotter who was guiding in hostile fire. The previous criminal case against the soldiers for Couso's death was dismissed in 2008 after the court ruled the cameraman was killed as a result of an act of war. In December, the Supreme Court reopened the case following an appeal by the Spanish cameraman's family. The prosecution in both cases was lead by investigating magistrate Santiago Pedraz.

A U.S. military investigation found the tank crew acted within their rules of engagement and the United States has said it will not extradite the three.

The Spanish prosecution only deals with the death of Couso, not that of Protsyuk.
Attention all reporters, NGO employees and all others not in the uniform of the militaries involved in a particular battle: war is a dangerous business and sometimes those nearby get hurt or killed. If you do not like this, please go very far away. If you choose to stay, you are legally bound to accept whatever may happen to you, your equipment, and the building and furnishings within which you think to hide. That is all.
And remember, at a certain distance and angle a television camera looks like an anti-tank weapon. If you point it at American tanks you will die. That is really all.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  Go read "Thunder Run" by David Zuccino. He talks about this incident in great detail. You will be amazed at the efforts (like transatlantic cell phone calls from a war zone) that were made to ensure they had the right building. They were under fire and knew *someone* was spotting from a tall building because they could hear him on the radio. In the end, they were unsuccessful and someone made the decision to pull the trigger. An unfortunate "sucks to be you" moment for the cameraman and everyone involved.
Posted by: SteveS   2009-07-16 11:05  

#1   a television camera looks like an anti-tank weapon

Best to start investing in small handheld HD cameras as a choice of recording in similar situations. Tell the 'news' director to put his own sorry ass on the line if he has problems with that - or better yet - start feeding the imagery through the net without said 'news' director.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-07-16 08:23  

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