Former doctor to stand trial again in Spain’s ‘stolen babies’ scandal

SPAIN’S first trial involving thousands of suspected cases of babies stolen from their mothers during the Franco era will resume today (Tuesday), decades after the scandal broke.
Former gynaecologist at the San Ramon clinic, Eduardo Vela, 85, is accused of having in 1969 taken Ines Madrigal, now 49, from her biological mother and given her to another woman who raised the baby as her own.
During questioning in the opening session of the trial on June 26, Vela said he could not recall incidents of baby trafficking at the clinic which he ran for 20 years.
Vela was due to return to the witness stand the following day but instead went to hospital after falling ill.
He is expected to take the witness stand again when the high-profile trial resumes for a final session, though no date for a verdict has been specified.
Prosecutors are seeking an 11-year prison sentence for falsifying official documents, illegal adoption, unlawful detention and certifying a non-existent birth.
Activists say hundreds of similar cases have failed to make it to court in Spain because of a lack of evidence or because the time limit to file charges has passed.