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Your English Newspaper for the Costa del Sol, Spain
Michael Jackson Has Died
It has been reported that pop singer Michael Jackson has died of a heart attack after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson, aged 50, was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed.
In Prison In Spain
DO YOU or someone you know have a loved one or friend in prison in Spain?
The Spanish Sun has set up special pages on this website with tons of helpful information and advise for people who find themselves in these circumstances.
We are also setting up a network of people throughout Spain who will take parcels to people in prison, especially if they do not have friends or relatives resident here. We currently have representation in Cadiz, Alicante, Malaga and Granada but still need volunteers in other areas.
We also need donations of blankets, sheets, towels and clothing to send to people who do not have anyone to help them.
If you would like to become involved, in anyway, or know someone who needs help please call 952 493 102, or email sunnews@idecnet.com please pass these details on to anyone who might need them
DEVASTATION OF BRITISH FAMILY
DURING the last year the Spanish Sun Newspaper has written about the plight of 19-year-old Stefan Beal, accused of raping a pensioner in the town of Montefrio, near Granada.
Michael Jackson Has Died
It has been reported that pop singer Michael Jackson has died of a heart attack after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson, aged 50, was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed.
In Prison In Spain
DO YOU or someone you know have a loved one or friend in prison in Spain?
The Spanish Sun has set up special pages on this website with tons of helpful information and advise for people who find themselves in these circumstances.
We are also setting up a network of people throughout Spain who will take parcels to people in prison, especially if they do not have friends or relatives resident here. We currently have representation in Cadiz, Alicante, Malaga and Granada but still need volunteers in other areas.
We also need donations of blankets, sheets, towels and clothing to send to people who do not have anyone to help them.
If you would like to become involved, in anyway, or know someone who needs help please call 952 493 102, or email sunnews@idecnet.com please pass these details on to anyone who might need them
DEVASTATION OF BRITISH FAMILY
DURING the last year the Spanish Sun Newspaper has written about the plight of 19-year-old Stefan Beal, accused of raping a pensioner in the town of Montefrio, near Granada.
In our last edition we reported that Stefan was due to go to court after being held for a year without bail in the notorious Albalote prison.
After the trail we spoke to Mark, Stefan’s dad, who told us that the trial had gone well, and he hoped Stefan would be freed within ten days, but all was not well, and this teenager has been given a tough sentence of seven years.
What Mark and Fiona Beal thought was going to be the end to a bad dream, has turned into the beginning of their worst nightmare.
Just one hour after finding out his son had been sentenced to 7 years, Mark spoke with us and said: “We just can’t believe it, our whole family is in shock, if I thought my son was guilty of hurting any person I would disown him tomorrow, but I know he is innocent.”
Mark went on to say: “The court case only lasted one day, during the trial most of the old lady’s family were sent out by the judge for misconduct, there were three judges, and at the end of the trial we felt confident that our lawyer had totally proved Stefan’s innocence.”
Mark Beals claims:
After the woman was cross examined the judge asked her to indentify her attacker, although she was seated within feet of Stefan, she wondered around the court room and into the public gallery, looking at everyone, until the judge finally told Stefan to stand up, at which she said it COULD have been him, then burst into tears and was lead from the court room.
The two policemen called to give evidence admitted that they had done no forensics at the crime scene, and that Stefan’s mobile phone, one of the main reasons he was arrested was not actually found in the lady’s apartment, but handed to police the next day.
Two doctors were called, who both admitted that the sexual injuries suffered by the woman could have been self inflicted.
We asked Mark on what grounds they had found Stefan guilty, he told us the reason given was because Stefan could not remember anything about the night in question. Mark has vowed not to give up, and an appeal has already been launched in the high court in Madrid. He has also contacted Fair trials abroad and various M.E.Ps to ask for help.
When the Spanish Sun spoke with our lawyer, and asked if it was normal for the judge to tell Stefan to stand up so the woman could identify him, he said this is definitely NOT allowed.
See next edition for a full update of how Mark Beal and his family are coping, who has helped them and their plan to try to get justice for their son.
Have you been the victim of injustice? Call the Spanish Sun on 952 493 102 or email sunnews@idecnet.com
Suspected Paedophile Found Hiding In Spain
A suspected paedophile who twice skipped bail in Scotland was arrested in Malaga.
Rolf Dieter-Glaetzner, a 47-year-old German national accused of abusing two young Scottish girls, spent more than six years on the run after absconding ahead of a High Court appearance.
Detectives say he will now face extradition proceedings. He faces charges in Scotland over a series of violent sexual assaults on two primary school pupils, aged six and seven at the time of the alleged attacks.
Mr Dieter-Glaetzner initially appeared from custody at Stirling Sheriff Court in October 2001, where he was granted bail.
However, he broke his bail conditions and returned to his native Germany, where he remained for nearly a year.
Upon his return to Scotland in July 2002, he was rearrested and brought to the High Court in Edinburgh.
Mr Dieter-Glaetzner was again granted bail, pending a trial at the High Court in Forfar in October 2002 but he left the country for a second time and his whereabouts were unknown until investigators in Spain announced his capture yesterday.
A spokeswoman for Central Scotland Police confirmed that a suspect had been re-arrested by police on the Costa del Sol.
She added: "Central Scotland Police is aware that a 47-year-old man, who was the subject of an outstanding warrant, has been arrested in Spain.
"We are currently in liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Spanish authorities, and can say no more at this time."
Spanish police said Mr Dieter-Glaetzner was arrested at an industrial estate on the outskirts of Malaga, a popular tourist site on the country's Mediterranean coast.
He will now be brought before an investigating judge at the National Criminal Court in Madrid, which handles all extradition cases. If he agrees to face justice in Scotland he will be escorted back by police.
However, if he decides to fight extradition, he could spend months in a tough, top-security prison in Madrid before a full hearing in front of a panel of three judges.
The suspect was arrested after a joint operation involving local police and an elite unit that specialises in tracking down foreigners hiding in Spain while on the run from justice.
A statement from Spanish police said they had evidence that Mr Dieter-Glaetzner was involved in a number of attacks on the young girls, carried out between 1989 and 2001. The suspect, who has fathered children with a number of different women, is also accused of taking obscene photographs of both of the girls.
Mr Dieter-Glaetzner was sought through a European arrest warrant, a system introduced in 2003 as part of the Extradition Act. The arrangement is used to speed up the transfer of suspects between countries, and has already been used successfully on several occasions.
Police have been particularly proactive in tracking down foreign suspects after the area was branded "the Costa del Crime" due to its reputation as a safe haven for British criminals.
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