6 and a half years imposed on the skipper of a boat in which 13 people died

The defendant has acknowledged the facts, which occurred last August, and has accepted a settlement agreement.

EFE

June 22 2022 (13:48 WEST)
Updated in June 22 2022 (14:48 WEST)
Guardamar Caliope of Maritime Rescue
Guardamar Caliope of Maritime Rescue

The Las Palmas Court has sentenced this Wednesday to 6 years and six months in prison the skipper of a boat in which 13 people died in August 2021, after being adrift, without food, water and fuel, for two weeks on the Canary Route.

The magistrate of the second section and president of the court, Pilar Parejo, has orally dictated the sentence, after the defendant, the Moroccan citizen Mohamed Tarfa, 43 years old, acknowledged the facts, who has agreed to the penalty imposed for a crime against the rights of foreign citizens (four years in prison) and eight of reckless homicide in ideal competition (two years and six months), understanding that the same fact was what caused those deaths.

The Prosecutor's Office initially demanded a sentence of 20 years in prison but has reduced the sentence after the defendant acknowledged the facts, who, from the beginning, has not been considered responsible for the death of the four people who died when falling into the sea during the rescue of the occupants of the boat, nor of the other skipper who died during the crossing.

The ship Ever Grace rescued the 34 surviving immigrants on August 10, 2021 after the boat was spotted by the Maritime Rescue plane.

Of the eight deaths for which the defendant is responsible, the last was that of a woman identified as A.K., a native of Morocco, as a result of a severe case of dehydration and hypothermia that caused multiple organ failure.

Both the relatives of this victim and those of the other three who have been identified - three Moroccan adults - Z.A., A.E.M. and K.L. - the defendant must compensate them with the payment of 30,000 euros, that is, he must pay a total of 120,000 euros, according to the sentence handed down, which is final.

The boat had set sail with approximately 47 people on board approximately two weeks before its rescue from a beach near the city of Dakhla, in Western Sahara.

During the crossing, the two skippers lost their course, leaving the boat adrift without sufficient water, food and fuel. 

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