José Couso
Encyclopedia
José Couso Permuy was a Spanish cameraman who was one of the April 8, 2003 journalist deaths by U.S. fire
after a U.S. tank fired at the Palestine Hotel
in Baghdad, Iraq during the 2003 Iraq invasion.
. He worked on assignments for several organizations, including EFE
and Canal Plus, and was a cameraman for the Telecinco
television network for 8 years, covering news of importance such as the kidnapping of his coworker Jon Sistiaga in Macedonia
, the 1998 Baghdad bombings, the Kosovo War
in 1999, various reports from the Hespérides a la Antártida ship in 2001, a report from the French caves of Lascaux
, the incident
on Isla Perejil
during the same year, and the Prestige oil spill
.
José Couso was married and had two children.
, right before the 2003 invasion. Of those, only 2 stayed in Baghdad: Jon Sistiaga as a journalist and José Couso as camera operator. The other members of the team went back to Spain a few days before the bombings began.
On 8 April 2003, José Couso was at the Palestine Hotel
, where many foreign reporters were staying. At that time, a company of the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army was fighting on the other side of the river Tigris
, where it was fired on by mortar
s and rocket-propelled grenades. According to the subsequent report issued by CENTCOM, enemy fire was aimed by an observer located on the same side of the Tigris as the Palestine Hotel. After looking for the alleged observer, an M1 Abrams
tank fired its 120mm Rheinmetall L44
cannon at the hotel. The round hit the 15th floor, where the Reuters
team was staying, causing the immediate death of the Ukrainian journalist Taras Protsyuk
. At the time, José Couso was filming on the 14th floor and was seriously injured. Couso was transported to a Baghdad hospital, where he died during an operation.
acknowledged the source of the attack, alleging that the soldiers who fired on the hotel, under the command of Sergeant Thomas Gibson, were replying to enemy fire.
Following the death of Couso, there were protests in front of the American diplomatic posts in Spain and several civil and judicial actions in order to determine the liability of the people involved. Up to now, there are still concentrations of people demanding justice on the 8th of each month in front of the United States Embassy in Madrid.
On 19 October 2005, the Audiencia Nacional of Spain
opened a preliminary investigation with an international arrest warrant against 3 of the involved U.S. military personnel. During the investigation. it called as witnesses the journalists Olga Rodríguez, Jon Sistiaga and Carlos Hernández
.
The Sala II de lo Penal of the Audiencia Nacional closed the investigation on 10 March 2006, saying that the event was an act of war, a decision which was appealed by the family of the deceased before the Tribunal Supremo. On the 5 December 2006 of December the Supreme Court of Spain
unanimously granted the appeal by Couso's family against the decision by the Audiencia Nacional.
Santiago Pedraz, judge of the Audiencia Nacional, reactivated the international arrest warrant against the 3 military personnel on 16 January 2007, after a protracted battle against the state prosecutor
. Pedraz accused the soldiers of murder and of a crime against the international community.
On 27 April 2007, the judge indicted the three soldiers on the count of murdering Couso. He also accused them of a crime against the international community on the basis of having attacked journalists. The Sala de lo Penal revoked this decision on 13 May 2008, backing the position of the state prosecutor, which asked for the case to be dismissed.
On 21 May 2009, Judge Pedraz indicted the 3 U.S. soldiers again.
On 29 July 2010, Judge Santiago Pedraz launched a search and arrest warrant against the 3 U.S. soldiers.
April 8, 2003 journalist deaths by U.S. fire
On April 8, 2003, three locations in Baghdad housing journalists were fired upon by U.S. armed forces during 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing three journalists and wounding four.- Al Jazeera's office :...
after a U.S. tank fired at the Palestine Hotel
Palestine Hotel
The Palestine Hotel , often referred to simply as The Palestine, is an 18-story hotel in Baghdad, Iraq located on Firdos Square, across from the Sheraton Ishtar. It has long been favored by journalists and media personnel...
in Baghdad, Iraq during the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Biography
José Couso was born in Ferrol in 1965 to a family of military tradition. He graduated in Sciences of Information and Sciences of Image at the Complutense University of MadridComplutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
. He worked on assignments for several organizations, including EFE
EFE
EFE is a Spanish news agency created in 1939 by Spain's former minister of the press and propaganda Ramón Serrano Súñer and Manuel Aznar Zubigaray....
and Canal Plus, and was a cameraman for the Telecinco
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
television network for 8 years, covering news of importance such as the kidnapping of his coworker Jon Sistiaga in Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, the 1998 Baghdad bombings, the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
in 1999, various reports from the Hespérides a la Antártida ship in 2001, a report from the French caves of Lascaux
Lascaux
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be...
, the incident
Perejil Island crisis
The Perejil Island crisis was a bloodless armed conflict between Spain and Morocco that occurred on July 18, 2002. The incident took place over the small, uninhabited Perejil Island.-Background:...
on Isla Perejil
Isla Perejil
For the armed conflict, see Perejil Island crisisThe Perejil Island is a small, uninhabited rocky islet located in the South shore of the Strait of Gibraltar very close to Morocco. Its sovereignty is disputed between Spain and Morocco...
during the same year, and the Prestige oil spill
Prestige oil spill
The Prestige oil spill was an oil spill off the coast of Galicia caused by the sinking of an oil tanker in 2002. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, as well as causing great harm to the local fishing...
.
José Couso was married and had two children.
Gulf War
Couso went to Iraq, together with several coworkers from TelecincoTelecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
, right before the 2003 invasion. Of those, only 2 stayed in Baghdad: Jon Sistiaga as a journalist and José Couso as camera operator. The other members of the team went back to Spain a few days before the bombings began.
On 8 April 2003, José Couso was at the Palestine Hotel
Palestine Hotel
The Palestine Hotel , often referred to simply as The Palestine, is an 18-story hotel in Baghdad, Iraq located on Firdos Square, across from the Sheraton Ishtar. It has long been favored by journalists and media personnel...
, where many foreign reporters were staying. At that time, a company of the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army was fighting on the other side of the river Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
, where it was fired on by mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s and rocket-propelled grenades. According to the subsequent report issued by CENTCOM, enemy fire was aimed by an observer located on the same side of the Tigris as the Palestine Hotel. After looking for the alleged observer, an M1 Abrams
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...
tank fired its 120mm Rheinmetall L44
Rheinmetall L44
The Rheinmetall 120 mm gun is a smoothbore tank gun designed and produced by the West German Rheinmetall-DeTec AG company, developed in response to Soviet advances in armor technology and development of new armored threats...
cannon at the hotel. The round hit the 15th floor, where the Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
team was staying, causing the immediate death of the Ukrainian journalist Taras Protsyuk
Taras Protsyuk
Taras Protsyuk was a Ukrainian TV cameraman working for Reuters, who was killed during the US invasion of Iraq.-Biography:Born in Ivano-Frankivsk , Protsyuk was based and lived in Warsaw since 1999 and worked as a cameraman for Reuters since 1993. During his career he covered the conflicts in...
. At the time, José Couso was filming on the 14th floor and was seriously injured. Couso was transported to a Baghdad hospital, where he died during an operation.
Reactions to Couso's death
The PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
acknowledged the source of the attack, alleging that the soldiers who fired on the hotel, under the command of Sergeant Thomas Gibson, were replying to enemy fire.
Following the death of Couso, there were protests in front of the American diplomatic posts in Spain and several civil and judicial actions in order to determine the liability of the people involved. Up to now, there are still concentrations of people demanding justice on the 8th of each month in front of the United States Embassy in Madrid.
On 19 October 2005, the Audiencia Nacional of Spain
Audiencia Nacional of Spain
The Audiencia Nacional is a a special and exceptional high court in Spain. It has its seat in Madrid and jurisdiction over all of Spain and international crimes which come under the competence of Spanish courts....
opened a preliminary investigation with an international arrest warrant against 3 of the involved U.S. military personnel. During the investigation. it called as witnesses the journalists Olga Rodríguez, Jon Sistiaga and Carlos Hernández
Carlos Hernández
Carlos Hernández or Carlos Hernandez may refer to:*Carlos Hernández , Salvadoran American boxer*Carlos Hernández Valverde , Costa Rican footballer*Carlos Hernández...
.
The Sala II de lo Penal of the Audiencia Nacional closed the investigation on 10 March 2006, saying that the event was an act of war, a decision which was appealed by the family of the deceased before the Tribunal Supremo. On the 5 December 2006 of December the Supreme Court of Spain
Supreme Court of Spain
The Supreme Court of Spain is the highest court in Spain for all matters not pertaining to the Spanish Constitution. The court which meets in the Convent of the Salesas Reales in Madrid, consists of a president and an indeterminate number of magistrates appointed to the five chambers of the...
unanimously granted the appeal by Couso's family against the decision by the Audiencia Nacional.
Santiago Pedraz, judge of the Audiencia Nacional, reactivated the international arrest warrant against the 3 military personnel on 16 January 2007, after a protracted battle against the state prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
. Pedraz accused the soldiers of murder and of a crime against the international community.
On 27 April 2007, the judge indicted the three soldiers on the count of murdering Couso. He also accused them of a crime against the international community on the basis of having attacked journalists. The Sala de lo Penal revoked this decision on 13 May 2008, backing the position of the state prosecutor, which asked for the case to be dismissed.
On 21 May 2009, Judge Pedraz indicted the 3 U.S. soldiers again.
On 29 July 2010, Judge Santiago Pedraz launched a search and arrest warrant against the 3 U.S. soldiers.
External links
- Leaked Cables Reveal U.S. Pressured Spain to Drop Case of Killed Cameraman - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...