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A TOP SPANISH court on Friday ruled against extraditing a former policeman to Argentina, where a judge wants to try him for alleged torture during the Franco dictatorship.
The National Court, the top criminal court in the country, said Jesus Munecas’s alleged crimes occurred too long ago.
The court also justified the decision on the grounds that Munecas has no link to Argentina.
The former policeman, 75, was the subject of an extradition request by an Argentine judge under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows certain human rights abuses to be pursued and tried elsewhere if the country in which they occurred does not investigate.
The charges lodged in Argentina allege that Munecas, a former Civil Guard captain, and another policeman, Juan Antonio Gonzalez Pacheco, tortured prisoners towards the end of General Francisco Franco’s rule.
Hundreds of Spaniards have turned to the Argentine courts to seek justice for alleged crimes committed during the country’s 36-year dictatorship, which ended with Franco’s death in 1975.
Munecas is accused of torturing a prisoner in 1968 at a Civil Guard Barracks in Spain’s northern Basque region.
During his extradition hearing earlier this month he denied taking part in torture and told the court he did not know his alleged victim.
In its ruling, the court pointed out that in Spain the crime of torture — which carries a prison term of six years — has a statute of limitations of 10 years.
The court has yet to rule on the extradition request for Gonzalez Pacheco, known as “Billy the Kid”, who is accused of torturing 13 prisoners between 1971 and 1975.
The lawyer of the 67-year-old, who earned his nickname for allegedly spinning a gun around his finger as he beat his victims, has said he denies the charges.
Spanish state prosecutor Pedro Martinez has opposed the extradition of the two men, but has said that if Argentina wants to prosecute the suspects it should do so in the Spanish courts.
However, the two men are unlikely to be tried in Spain because of a 1977 amnesty law covering political crimes committed during the 1936-39 civil war and under Franco, which was adopted in an attempt to unify the country.
Last October, the United Nations recommended scrapping the amnesty and urged Spain to draw up plans to search for those who disappeared during the dictatorship.
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Good news. More jobs, more money in the economy and more tax collected. Well done to Microsoft and the people working there who helped to make this happen. And people really think we should be increasing corporation tax.
@Nick Allen: when the likes of apple pay €50 on each million they earn and Starbucks pay €45 per million they earn then yes of course the corporate tax rate should be hired.. I earn €220 and pay €50 tax how’s that fair?
Good news. A little known fact is IBM employ more in Ireland.
@Shakka1244: Indeed, their campus out in Damastown is massive. It’s like a small town.
@Brian Cunningham: as do a tonne of other companies, like CRH, Paddy Power, Ryan Air, Musgrave, Apple, Primark etc. Etc.
@Brian Cunningham: a very small town in Leitrim perhaps.
If only they could have somewhre to live.
@Steve: This will be sales people with wages in 100k region so they easily afford living in Dublin.
@cortisola: If 200 people earning 100k appear in the market, needing 200 places to live, the fact that they can “easily afford living in Dublin” means they take 200 properties from people who can’t afford to pay as much and would have a demand driven impact, pushing up prices.
So @Steve is correct, news like this just highlights the need for emergency level response to the housing supply shortage Dublin is seeing at the moment.
@Ciaran Ó Fallúin: @Steve never said what you tell he said. You’re a liar and demagogue Ciaran.
@Ciaran Ó Fallúin:
Why do you think that the 200 people are not already living in Dublin?
@Nick Allen: Ok… so the 200 people live in work in Dublin and decide to go for these high paying jobs. Leaving, presumably, already reasonably high paying jobs, which need to be filled and so on. There is an increased size of the workforce whatever way you cut it.
@cortisola If you don’t understand my point, I can’t help you with that.
On the news this morning that most of the jobs are for foreign language speakers.
@Eddie Byrne: Brush up on your languages before you submit your CV.
@Eddie Byrne: Well of course they are! Its the European centre. So most will have to be recruited from outside the country due to our backward education system. But most who come will be 20 somethings from around Europe who will spend the vast majority of what they earn here and pay a good chunk of income tax. So a win-win for everyone.
@Michael Reilly: 73% of Irish people don’t speak a foreign language http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/2/2d/Distribution_of_people_aged_25%E2%80%9364_by_knowledge_of_foreign_languages%2C_2007_and_2011_%28%25%29_edu15.png
@Peadar Rooney: that’s the fault of those 73%.
@Darren Bates: Not really, its the education system. By the way, these jobs are for technically fluent foreign speakers, a rather advanced level of fluency which suits native language speakers.
@Peadar Rooney: This is exactly why US companies need a European base. For all the naysayers going on about US tax moves and how it will affect Ireland, this is a perfect example of why these companies need a European base. It is much more likely that French, Spanish, German workers will move to Ireland than to the US. On top of the the US is trying to limit immigration as are the UK. Win win for Ireland. Even if these people are not Irish, they need to live here, buy food here, entertain themselves here, raise their children here etc etc etc. Irish people will likely benefit from this.
@iMoan Brutal: try being overt 50 here and looking for a job. It’s bloody disgusting and drives older workers to desperation. Most of these jobs also go to foreigners so what’s in it for Irish people who want to work?
@Marc Power: Their taxes are paying your dole. Their spent cash is putting money into shops,pubs,etc. Try to understand you NEED to be able to speak fluent German to speak with German customers in Germany. Are there many over 50 Irish “non foreigners” who have fluent Finnish out there looking for a job????? Try to understand the alternative is for these companies to employ people in those countries instead. now stop whinging and cop on
Good news. It’s always good to see jobs being created outside the canals of Dublin. At least they won’t add to the morning commute.
@Fred Jetson: Yeah nobody on the Northside works in Microsoft.
@Kal Ipers:
Pretty much, yeah.
Great news – just wondering however why they all need to be based in Sandyford – I am sure that there are lots of commercial parks available countrywide with sufficient network access.
@eastsmer: Sandyford is still better than D2 area already filled with great number of international corporations tending to open their offices in City Centre..
@eastsmer:
Perhaps because MS has its office in Sandyford
Who uses MS Office these days?
@Stevie Doran:
1.2 Billion use office and 60 Million use Office 365
@Stevie Doran: (doh) ignorance is bliss eh
@Stevie Doran: “Who uses MS Office these days?” – all poor people who cant afford Apple, something like 95% of the world.
@cortisola:
I use Office 365 on my Mac
@cortisola: google docs is free was my initial point
@Eddie Byrne
We’re laughing so as English is a foreign language ;)
good news. thank feck Steve ‘Ballbag’ Ballmer is gone, MS are doing much better things with Satya ‘Nutella’ Nadella
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