Shawn Gibson, Philip Wolford y Philip De Camp s/ homicidio (Jose Couso case) fr

Country of proceedings: Spain
Context of crimes: Irak
Date: 2003 - 2008
Keywords: War crimes (murder), law of armed conflicts (civilians), jurisdiction

Court Documents (in Spanish)
19-10-2005 - Ordén de detención
05-12-2006 - Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo
27-04-2007 - Auto de procesamiento
18-05-2007 - Recurso del Fiscal
24-05-2007 - Auto del Juez Santiago Pedráz
16-05-2008 - Auto de la sala de lo penal de la Audiencia nacional
21-05-2009 - Auto de procesamiento
14-07-2009 - Auto ordenando la conclusion summario del caso
29-07-2010 - Auto del Juez Santiago Pedráz

Presentation of the case
José Couso was a Spanish cameraman who died in Iraq in 2003, when US soldiers allegedly opened fire on a Baghdad hotel frequented by journalists. Judicial investigations into the incident were initiated in 2005 by Judge Santiago Gomez (Audiencia nacional), who ordered the arrest of three US soldiers, Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip De Camp, in October of the same year.

However, this detention order was overturned in 2006 on issues of jurisdiction, before the Supreme Court of Spain decided to reissue arrest warrants in December 2006. The soldiers were then indicted in April 2007, but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. In 2009, Judge Gomez issued a new indictment against the same soldiers, for the same charges, stating that the testimony of three journalists provided evidence sufficient to support the initial homicide allegations. On 14 July 2009, however, the Spanish Audiencia Nacional dismissed the charges, ruling that Judge Gomez had produced no new evidence against the soldiers.

In July 2010, the Spanish Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reopen the investigation. Subsequently, an arrest warrant was issued on 29 July 2010 by Judge Santiago Pedraz.

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