NATION : Iran-Contra Dismissal Upheld

RICHMOND, Va. —  A federal appeals court today upheld a judge’s dismissal of charges against an Iran-Contra scandal defendant because the government refused to allow the defense to use classified materials.

Joseph Fernandez, the CIA station chief in Costa Rica from 1984-86, was entitled to the material to defend himself against charges that he lied to investigators about a scheme to send military aid to Contra rebels in Nicaragua, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said.

Fernandez had been accused of telling investigators that a Costa Rican airstrip was for training that country’s military when the airstrip allegedly was used to illegally resupply the Contras.

He also was accused of falsely saying that he did not know of former National Security Council aide Oliver North’s involvement and that he did not know supplies he helped deliver to the Contras in 1986 contained military aid.