Working for a world where every person's right to a fair trial is
respected, whatever their nationality, wherever they are accused
CORINNA REID
"My daughter was too young to speak on the phone, my
contact with her then was nil. I had friends and family
sending photographs but that was it. It was extremely
difficult.”
Corinna Reid
Summary
In January 2007 Corinna Reid and her partner Robert Cormack went on holiday to Tenerife with their children,
including their 18-month-old son Aiden. During the holiday Aiden fell ill with bronchitis and, sadly, died in the
early hours of 12 January. Corinna and Robert were devastated by the death of their child and returned to their
home in Scotland for Aiden’s funeral. However in 2009, Corinna was extradited to Spain to face charges over
the death of her son. She spent 14 months in pre-trial detention under terrible conditions.
Background
In April 2008, the police in Spain released Aiden’s toxicology results which showed that Aiden had a mixture of
methadone and diazepam in his blood when he died. Robert had been prescribed methadone and diazepam to
combat a drug problem.
The Spanish authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant in September 2008 and Corinna and Robert were
arrested in Scotland. At this stage, Robert confessed that while in Tenerife he had been preparing to take his
prescription drugs when Aiden, who was an exceptionally active child, spilt them all over himself. Not thinking
that Aiden had swallowed any, Robert did not inform Corinna of the incident. Following the confession, Robert
immediately told authorities that Corinna had nothing to do with the accident, and consented to extradition to
Spain to face charges of murder/manslaughter. The Spanish authorities continued to demand Corinna’s
surrender. Despite the fact that she had a six-month-old daughter who was exclusively breastfeeding, her
extradition was ordered in January 2009.
Once in Tenerife, Corinna spent a year on remand. During this time she was detained in a prison without any
heating, despite the fact that it was located in a cold, mountainous area of Tenerife. Corinna has described how
the cell she was kept in was so damp that mould would grow on the walls overnight. This environment had a
severe impact on Corinna’s pre-existing health conditions, which included muscular atrophy, arthritis and
kidney damage. Corinna’s daughter was six months old when Corinna was extradited to Spain and had to be left
in the care of family in the UK.
In March 2010, Corinna was finally granted provisional release, with the court pointing out that there was no
evidence implicating Corinna in her son’s death. However, she is not allowed to leave Spain and cannot care for
her daughter who is still in the UK and now three. Corinna is struggling to find work and appropriate medical
care.