The initial arrest of Jama Aden garnered A TON of publicity. I don't think the not guilty verdict in his criminal case in Spanish court has been covered at all in the English press so I had Jonathan Gault write up something about it. We didn't even know about they not guilty verdict until months after the fact.
Does the not guilty verdict change your opinion on Aden?
I mean it's Spain - quite possibly the biggest hotbed of doping in continental Europe. Footballers (Soccer), Tennis players, track and field athletes, cyclists - I mean the Operation Puerto stuff tells you all you need to know. Sure Aden is not Spanish but hard to believe there wouldn't be some connection within Spain that was enabling him in that case (because even Aden is not stupid enough to try and take drugs across borders). So with that in mind is this really surprising?
He was still found with a fridge loaded with dope. All his athletes started sucking right after it all was found (Dibaba, Suleiman etc etc). He's as crooked as they come in the sport and everyone around the sport knows it. Meh.
I wish someone in Spain who is fluent in English and Spanish could give us the details. But I felt like it's important to say he was not guilty. If we are following a person for weeks, collecting their trash and still can't convict them, then what does that mean?
To me it means 1) He's innocent or 2) We'll never convict anyone in some places short of a positive test.
Optiom 2. It means that it is extremely difficult to find someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If we applied that standard to all doping cases you would see the number of bans plummet. That's why the current strict liability + balance of probability system is vital. If you got rid of those two things there would be probably zero bans a year. Neither of those legal concepts applied in the Aden criminal case.
Let me guess: did he claim that Aden was innocent?
I suppose my main claim was to "wait and see", besides asking questions about the alleged relation between Aden and the Saudi physio. For 6 years, there was very little news or updates about Aden, but lots of conspiracy theories put forward by many without providing any real additional information. Early Spanish reporting in the El Pais about 1 month after the raid provided the most information about what was found in the raid, and where, and from that point on, nothing changed substantially. The AIU's report on Balla provided a lot more detail, but again, nothing substantially different with respect to Aden.
I also often wondered, if fans are truly concerned about doping, where the threads and outrage were for the Saudi physio Mounir, or for that matter, Balla, as they were the ones actually found with the EPO. Instead, people preferred to demonize Aden, and Genzebe and other athletes like Farah, etc., by association.
If you are the sort of person who values the principle of "innocent until proven guilty", then Aden and his athletes like Genzebe, should have been treated as innocent all along by fans and athletes alike. Laura Muir should shake Genzebe's hand and congratulate her. Instead their names were raked through the muck, and their legacies will be forever tarnished, and these 6 years can never be recovered.
There is still a chance that the World Athletics/AIU charge Aden with some violation (they still have three more years before the 10-year statute of limitation expires), but again, based on publicly available evidence that he was not in possession of any WADA banned substances, it's hard for me to see that happening, unless the Spanish criminal process provides new evidence not yet made public. But then again, the WADA Code gives broad advantages to anti-doping organizations in ways that I have previously failed to predict.
"Although it should be pointed out neither Dibaba nor Aden was ever punished for the incident and Aden was acquitted in Spanish court last year after being charged with supplying banned substances to an athlete."When did that...
I note also that some posters prefer to double-down on their unproven conspiracies, rather than admit that they might have been wrong about something.
I note that too, for example you with your baseless theory that AIU (against clean ahtletes??) and IAAF (like Lord Coe against Nike???) conspired against doper Houlihan, and CAS and the Swiss Supreme Court were too incompetent (or was it corruption in your vision?) to note that. But you didn't just double-down, you million-downed lol. You funny.
I note also that some posters prefer to double-down on their unproven conspiracies, rather than admit that they might have been wrong about something.
I note that too, for example you with your baseless theory that AIU (against clean ahtletes??) and IAAF (like Lord Coe against Nike???) conspired against doper Houlihan, and CAS and the Swiss Supreme Court were too incompetent (or was it corruption in your vision?) to note that. But you didn't just double-down, you million-downed lol. You funny.
That is not my theory, and my statements have not been shown to be wrong nor baseless, and this is a thread about how Aden was acquitted in the Spanish criminal court.
That is not my theory, and my statements have not been shown to be wrong nor baseless, and this is a thread about how Aden was acquitted in the Spanish criminal court.
Of course your statements have been proven wrong and baseless, over and over again, but about Aden: which "unproven conspiracies" were proven wrong or baseless?
That is not my theory, and my statements have not been shown to be wrong nor baseless, and this is a thread about how Aden was acquitted in the Spanish criminal court.
Of course your statements have been proven wrong and baseless, over and over again, but about Aden: which "unproven conspiracies" were proven wrong or baseless?
Of course not, not once. About Aden, Aden was acquitted in the Spanish criminal courts, after a lengthy criminal investigation and prosecution. Any allegation, starting as far back as Torrence, that he committed doping crimes or rule violations, remain unproven seven years after the raid was splashed across all the tabloids.
Lol. he had syringes of PEDs and one of his athletes had EPO in his room. This is a joke
Exactly. This is what happens when people hype up lies on the Internet and fabricate things they wish were true. The truth comes out and the Internet cocroches can't believe their fabrications have been found out to be false.
Even if the court that cleared him is bogus, how did this take 7 years to be resolved?? I'm all for due process, but seven years is longer than many pro's careers.
Even if the court that cleared him is bogus, how did this take 7 years to be resolved?? I'm all for due process, but seven years is longer than many pro's careers.
For those who want to make doping a crime, that is what you can expect. It takes time to conduct a criminal investigation and prosecution.