The Contentious Chamber of the National Court (AN) has recognized a man who was imprisoned for four years for an alleged crime against public health, of which he was declared innocent, the right to receive 74,500 euros in respect of patrimonial responsibility, compared to the 759,500 he requested.
The arrest took place in 2005 on a ship without any flag, when it was in international waters near the Canary Islands and the acquittal was based on the fact that he was unaware of the existence of bales of drugs that he helped to transfer to another vessel.
The man remained charged by a Court of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, along with other people who were convicted by the Provincial Court, from October 13, 2005 to September 29, 2009, which totals 1,448 days.
The Ministry of Justice initially recognized the payment of 47,000 euros and now the Court increases it by 27,500, including the loss of profits or the money he stopped receiving as a salary for being in prison, despite not providing work history or proof that he was hired on the ship.
The Court calculated that concept based on the fact that he received a minimum of 17 euros per day and that his salary ranged between 515 and 700 euros per month, also taking into account the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI).
For years, the law has reserved a specific treatment for the compensation of those who suffered unjust preventive detention, recognizing their possibility of being compensated either because they were acquitted or the case was dismissed, if they demonstrate damages.
Until 2010, this right was rejected when they were cleared of suspicion only due to the lack of evidence, but in that same year the European Court also included this concept.
Since then, the compensation is calculated based on the length of deprivation of liberty and the personal and family consequences that have occurred, not only economic but also the social stigma, anxiety, insecurity, concern or frustration caused by entering prison.
