Hundreds of blood bags seized as part of the Operation Puerto doping investigation into cycling and other sports "must be released to the authorities, a Spanish court has ruled," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. The court in Madrid overturned an earlier ruling and has "ordered the bags be handed over" to organizations including the World Anti-Doping Agency. The Madrid Provincial Court said that bags containing blood samples and plasma should be handed over to WADA, the Spanish Cycling Federation, the Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) and Italy’s Olympic committee. However it is three weeks after the 10th anniversary of the blood being seized and the WADA limit on athletes being sanctioned for doping offenses is 10 years, "raising questions about what action can be taken." In '06, Operation Puerto revealed a doping network "involving some of the world’s top cyclists when police seized coded blood bags from the clinic of Eufemiano Fuentes, a sports doctor" (LONDON TIMES, 6/14). The BBC reported the appeal judges said that they were "overturning the earlier decision to destroy the blood bags" to help the "fight against doping, which undermines the essential ethical value of sport." More than 50 cyclists were originally linked to the case. Among those eventually suspended were former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, Spanish Vuelta champion Alejandro Valverde and Ivan Basso, who "later confirmed that his blood was among the frozen samples found." Fuentes also worked in other sports "and the new ruling raises the potential for the identities of additional athletes to be revealed" (BBC, 6/14). CYCLING NEWS' Alasdair Fotheringham reported Fuentes "has been cleared of all charges against public health." According to reports, the "full final court verdict" argues that blood transfusions are not considered to constitute a public health offense, "given that it finds that blood is not in itself a medicine." Fuentes’ four-year ban from practicing as a sports doctor is lifted, while Ignacio Labarta, the sports director who "received a four-month suspended prison sentence and four-month ban from any cycling-related activities," is also cleared. One of "the more controversial elements" of the verdict means that Fuentes "could arguably now return to his work as a sports doctor, with no legal black mark against his name" (CYCLING NEWS, 6/14).
