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SPAIN has responded to US president Donald Trump who ordered a probe in the landmark euthanasia trial of a Spanish woman.
Monica Garcia, the Spanish minister of health, told Trump to ‘stop sticking his nose in’ following the announcement that the US embassy in Madrid would launch an investigation into the death of paraplegic gang-rape victim Noelia Castillo.
Castillo, a 25-year-old victim of sexual assaults who had tried to commit suicide, was paralysed by the attempt and chose to end her life last Thursday. According to an American newspaper’s leaked diplomatic cable The Post, Trump’s probe was ordered amid concerns over ‘systemic human rights failings’ that led Castillo to seek assisted suicide.
READ MORE Trump calls for investigation into death of Spanish gang-rape victim, 25, by euthanasia: US president hits out at ‘systemic human rights failures’
Garcia wrote: “In the United States thousands of people are killed every year because they lack health insurance. Trump also supports and commits human rights violations against Gaza and Iran.” X (formerly Twitter).
She added, “He should not be a part of the international ultra agenda and snooping around everywhere.”
This confrontation marks the latest escalation of the rising tensions between Spain, the US.
Trump and Pedro Sanchez have traded blows ever since Sanchez became one of the few European leaders to criticize the US war effort in Iran.
READ MORE Explainer: Spain’s euthanasia laws after paraplegic victim Noelia, 25, decides to end her own life
The leaked cable shows that the Trump administration was concerned about Castillo’s death being allowed to go ahead even though she had reportedly shown hesitation in her last hours.
“We have heard reports that Ms Castillo was reluctant to undergo euthanasia, but that her indications of this were ignored,” said the administration.
“This case raises significant concerns regarding the application of Spain’s euthanasia laws, particularly when cases involve non-terminal and psychiatric suffering.”
US investigators have also been instructed to look into the migration history of Castillo’s perpetrators, even though there is no indication that they are migrants.
READ MORE Noelia, 25, was paralysed by falling off a roof to commit suicide.
The State Department has asked US Embassy officials in Spain to communicate these concerns by April 3 to the Spanish Government.
Castillo passed away last week in her “prettiest” dress after receiving a deadly combination of three drugs which stopped her heart in 20 minutes.
Her father tried unsuccessfully to stop her euthanasia 18 months prior, but eventually lost his legal case.
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