Eufemiano Fuentes MADRID — Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, on trial for allegedly masterminding a doping ring in cycling, will not be obliged to identify any of the clients whose frozen blood was found in bags seized by police, the judge in the case ruled Wednesday. On his second day on the stand, Fuentes, who denies involvement in doping, said he could identify to whom the blood in the numbered bags belonged, prompting a request by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), represented at the trial in Madrid, that he do so in court. Judge Julia Santamaria said she would not prevent him from revealing the names, but would not force him to do so, saying it would infringe the rights of those implicated. Fuentes and four other defendants, including his sister Yolanda, are appearing in court almost seven years after anabolic steroids, transfusion equipment and blood bags were seized as part of a investigation code-named “Operation Puerto". The closely-watched and much-delayed trial began Monday and when Fuentes took the stand Tuesday he told the judge he had clients in sports other than cycling, including soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing. The proceedings have attracted international scrutiny because anti-doping authorities, who along with CONI and several sporting organizations are taking part in the trial, are hopeful it will finally lead to evidence of wrongdoing by athletes in other sports being made available. The Spanish authorities have repeatedly denied a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) request for access to the blood bags, and the body awaits the judge's ruling on its latest petition made this week. Fuentes did reveal the name of one client Wednesday, identifying former rider Jose Javier Gomez, now the president of Spain's association of professional cyclists (ACP) and the director general of a government foundation that promotes sport for young people. Abnormal levels Fuentes also told the court he was aware that abnormally high levels of erythropoietin (EPO) had been found in eight of the 92 blood bags seized in 2006 but said he had nothing to do with the presence of the artificial hormone. “No product was ever added to the blood except legally established preservatives," Fuentes said. “Such a small quantity (of EPO) can have no other explanation than that it was the remnants of a previous treatment." Prohibited by anti-doping authorities since the early 1990s, EPO can help athletic performance by increasing the concentration of red cells and improving the amount of oxygen blood can carry to the body's muscles. As Spain's current anti-doping legislation was not in force in 2006 when the police raids took place, Fuentes and his fellow accused are being tried for violating public health regulations and the prosecutor has asked for prison sentences of two years. — Reuters
