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Reborn Puerto likely won’t bring major revelations
Court takes narrow view in appeal ruling
Despite a Spanish appeals court ruling last week to reopen the Operación Puerto case, don’t expect any major revelations to come out of the renewed investigation.
A closer review of the court documents found that a panel of three Spanish judges refused to apply a new tough anti-doping law to the alleged blood doping ring and said evidence gathered in police raids dating back to May 2006 will not be handed over to the UCI.
Instead, the court severely limited the scope of the renewed investigation to only include the question of “crimes against public health” and decided that other issues, such as fraud or doping, did not apply to the case.
That means the court will only review the condition of the infamous 200 bags of blood and plasma collected in police raids from May 2006.
The court ruled that there could be a criminal offense in the “procurement, transportation, maintenance and identification of the bags of blood” and possibly of “trafficking of drugs and manipulation of blood,” court documents read.
If the court determines that the blood was improperly stored and posed a health risk, doctors Eufemiano Fuentes and Merino Batres could face jail sentences up to two years.
The court was clear in stating that those doping violations that occurred before the introduction of Spain’s new anti-doping law in November 2006 should be dealt with via existing sports bodies, such as the Spanish cycling federation and the UCI, and not through the courts.
Judges said the evidence gathered by Spain’s Guardia Civil cannot be handed over to the UCI or other agencies while the investigation is still underway.
Using some striking language, the court also shot down the argument that fraud had been committed against sponsors or teams because there had been “years of speaking about doping, when cyclists had died from consuming drugs, disqualified and frequently sanctioned” and suggested that sponsors had, in the past, simply shut their eyes to the problem of doping.
The case now returns to Judge Antonio Serrano, the same judge who closed the investigation last spring after failing to find conclusive evidence that any laws had been broken.
Serrano was also ordered to take a closer look to see if dosages of the banned blood-booster EPO found in some of the bags of blood could have posed a health risk.
So what does this all mean for some 60 riders allegedly linked to one of cycling’s biggest doping scandals?
Here’s a run-down of the major issues:
Who faces charges?
Only Eufemiano Fuentes and Spanish hematologist Merino Batres could face charges under the appeal ruling. Judges assumed that the pair administered the extractions and transfusion as well as the storage and transport of the blood packets. Alberto León, a former mountain biker thought to be a courier, could also face charges. Others, including Manolo Saíz (ex-director of Liberty Seguros), Vicente Belda and Ignacio Labarta (ex-Comunidad Valenciana) and doctors Yolanda Fuentes and Alfredo Córdova, face no charges. That means no riders are formally under investigation by Spanish courts.
Can Spain’s new anti-doping law be applied?
No. The court clearly stated that the ex post facto application of any law is a fundamental violation of judicial principles. Spain’s new doping law was approved in November 2006 and the alleged violations, which precede the police raids in May 2006, have to be handled by sporting bodies.
Will the evidence be handed over to UCI?
No, not until the case is formally closed at least. After that, it’s unsure how the courts will act. The court was clear in stating that the UCI and the respective national cycling federations should handle any disciplinary proceedings. But until the courts release police evidence and court documents, the agencies are powerless to take action.
Will those bags of blood be tested?
Yes, but only to measure if the amount of EPO found in some bags would be considered a health risk. There was no mention of forcing DNA testing to help identify whose blood and plasma might be in the infamous coded bags. It remains unclear if the bags themselves will be handed over to the Spanish Federation or the UCI for their long-delayed investigations.
Will riders ever face bans?
That’s the million-dollar question. There is considerable interest in finding out exactly who was and was not linked to the Puerto ring. Some riders, including Ivan Basso, Michele Scarponi and Jörg Jaksche, have admitted working with Fuentes and are currently serving bans. Others deny working with Fuentes yet cannot find a contract or have been forced to take major pay cuts. Others – most notably Rock Racing’s Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevilla and Santiago Botero – have found themselves in a legal limbo because of the case.
Are the sporting and national federations completely powerless?
Not really. Basso’s case demonstrates that investigators can force the issue at times. Italy’s Olympic Committee threatened the Giro winner with suspension unless he agreed to undergo a DNA test and he then admitted to working with Fuentes and was eventually banned from the sport. Jan Ullrich, too, retired from the sport after DNA tests linked him with several blood bags seized from Fuentes. German authorities reportedly also have possession of Fuentes’ bank records, which apparently link him to several of his alleged clients. That investigation continues, albeit in a limited fashion until the Spanish judiciary releases further evidence.
