MADRID (SPAIN)
The Irish Times
June 25, 2018
By Guy Hedgecoe
Doctor accused of involvement in illegal adoption racket during dictatorship
A Spanish doctor will go on trial on Tuesday accused of abducting an infant half a century ago in a landmark case that is expected to clarify the so-called “stolen baby” scandal that is believed to have separated thousands of families during the Franco dictatorship and beyond.
Eduardo Vela, a retired gynaecologist, is accused of unlawfully taking a new-born baby girl from her mother in a Madrid clinic in 1969 and of giving her, via the mediation of a priest, to a couple who agreed to pretend they were the biological parents.
The baby girl, Inés Madrigal, grew up without knowing she was adopted. But when she was an adult, her adoptive mother told her what had happened, prompting her to denounce Dr Vela.
The prosecutor is calling for the Madrid court handling the case to give Dr Vela (85) an 11-year prison sentence and a €15,000 fine for illegal detention, certifying a non-existent birth and forging documents.
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