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Spanish indictments for 1989 El Salvador murders of Jesuits

CWN - May 31, 2011

Operating under the Spanish legal principle of universal jurisdiction for heinous crimes, a judge in Spain has indicted two former El Salvadoran defense ministers and some 20 soldiers for the 1989 murders of six Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter. Five of the six Jesuits were Spanish.

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  • Posted by: Cornelius - May. 31, 2011 1:26 PM ET USA

    "universal jurisdiction for heinous crimes"? So any "heinous crime" that occurs in the universe is now subject to Spanish jurisprudence? This is subtle gutting of the concept of law, replacing it with a Spanish judge's subjective concept of "heinous".

  • Posted by: normnuke - May. 31, 2011 12:18 PM ET USA

    The 'legal principle of universal jurisdiction' sounds like it's become the Socialist version of fatwa.

  • Posted by: Quadratus - May. 31, 2011 8:34 AM ET USA

    Who will bring to justice those who killed thousands of Catholic priests and nuns in Spain during the civil war there? Or who will bring to justice those who legalized abortion in Spain?

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