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, said a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Fernandez planned to use the classified evidence to argue that he did not lie about his knowledge of former National Security Council official Oliver North's involvement in the scheme and the type of supplies being sent to the Contras. ``Whether a jury would believe Fernandez's defense is speculation. But to preclude the jury from considering evidence relevant to this defense would be to deprive him of fundamental constitutional protections,'' said the opinion by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III. He was joined by Judges William W. Wilkins Jr. and Robert F. Chapman. The 40-page opinion deletes numerous mentions of sensitive national security information. U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of Alexandria dismissed the case last November after the government refused to submit the classified material sought by Fernandez. The former CIA station chief had been indicted on two counts of lying to investigators and two counts of obstructing justice. He was accused of telling investigators that a Costa Rican airstrip was for training that country's military in case of an invasion by Nicaragua when in fact the airstrip was used to illegally resupply the Contras. He also was accused of falsely saying he did not know of North's involvement and did not know that supplies he helped deliver to the Contras in 1986 contained military aid. Fernandez asked to disclose nearly 5,000 classified documents at his trial.
