http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/spai-j03.shtml
A Spanish judge has again called for the extradition of three US soldiers to Spain to face charges of indiscriminate attacks against civilians in war. The charges against Sergeant Thomas Gibson, Captain Philip Wolford and tank commander Lieutenant Colonel Phil de Camp relate to the deaths of two cameramen during the first weeks of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The accused are currently residing in the US. Under Spanish law it is possible for a judge to rule on the extradition of a non-Spanish national if there are reasonable grounds for prosecution. Spanish laws on indiscriminate attacks or violence against civilians in war carry a sentence of between 10 and 15 years.
The victims were Taras Protsyuk, a Ukrainian Reuters cameraman, and José Cuoso, a cameraman for the Spanish TV station Telecinco. The case deals only with the Spanish national, Cuoso.
On April 8, 2003, the cameramen were filming from their 15th floor balcony at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad when they were hit by a shell from an Abrams battle tank. The tank had been parked for the previous hour on one of the main bridges across the Tigris River after a lull in fighting between US and Iraqi soldiers. There had been no fire directed towards the tank for about an hour.
Protsyuk was killed instantly and Cuoso died a few hours later. Three other Reuters news agency staff were wounded.
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