The authorities think they may have been taken to the area near the frontier with Chechenia. The Madrid court yesterday released two Polish citizens that were accused of killing a compatriot after the jury failed to agree on a verdict. It was the second time this had happened in what was the second trial - the first one ended with the same outcome. It s the very first time that such a stalemate has occurred since the jury system has been in use in Spain. The presiding magistrate ordered the release of the men, declaring that in neither of their two trials had there been the majority necessary to secure a conviction.
Today sees the introduction of generic medicines into the Spanish health service.
A generic is an identical medicine to a well known brand but can be purchased at a far lower price, leading the government to hope the measure will reduce future health costs. The ministry for health has issued a list of reference prices to apply to a total of 590 generic versions of popularly prescribed drugs. If a member of the public wants to keep on taking the non-generic version of the drug they will be expected to firstly pay the difference between its price and that on the generic reference price list and secondly an additional amount. This extra amount ranges from 40 per cent of the reference price for normal prescriptions, to ten per cent of the reference price if the patient is chronically ill, but will not be charged at all if the patient is a pensioner. An advertising campaign to increase public awareness of generic medicines has been launched nationwide, including at cinemas.