The Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting eleven years in prison for a man accused of the death of seven immigrants who arrived by boat at Playa Bastián in Costa Teguise. The events, which took place on January 15, 2018, will be judged by the Sixth Section of the Provincial Court on May 23 in Gran Canaria.
The Prosecutor's Office considers that M.S., a native of Morocco, "undocumented and also identified as S.A.", knowingly proceeded to violate the rules of entry into the national territory by helping 27 people enter Spain through unauthorized posts, using a boat-type vessel for this purpose."
The boat, according to the indictment, left the coast of Morocco, from somewhere between Tan Tan and Tarfalla, in the early morning of January 13, 2018, arriving at the coast of Playa Bastián, in Costa Teguise, at around 12:30 p.m. on January 15, 2018.
"This boat lacked any security system, as well as life jackets, for the crossing of the ocean, thereby endangering the lives of the immigrants," the Prosecutor's Office maintains, which points out that, "as a result, a total of seven people died during the journey."
Compensation totaling 420,000 euros
The Public Prosecutor's Office considers that the events constitute a crime against the rights of foreign citizens and seven crimes of reckless homicide, requesting a total of eleven years in prison for the accused; one for each of the homicide crimes and four for the crime against the rights of foreign citizens. Similarly, it requests that he compensate the heirs of each of the deceased in the amount of 60,000 euros per deceased person, which would make a total of 420,000 euros.
The accused, who has been in pre-trial detention for this case since January 17, 2018, also has a prior conviction. Specifically, he was sentenced to three years in prison for a crime against the rights of foreign citizens in 2003, by the Criminal Court number 1 of Arrecife, although that sentence has already been extinguished.
"It's the first time someone has died in my hands"
It should be remembered that, according to the Civil Guard reported at the time, five of the immigrants from the boat that arrived at Playa Bastián in January 2019 had already arrived dead in Lanzarote, while two drowned upon arrival. And, according to the person who alerted to the arrival of the boat, the occupants jumped into the water before touching land. Also, four of the occupants had to be evacuated to the Molina Orosa Hospital, three with hypothermia and another with a strong blow to the face.
"It's the first time someone has died in my hands," said Kevin Muñoz, in charge of the company awarded the lifeguard service of the beaches of Teguise, who, together with two colleagues, were the first to help the immigrants and who told La Voz how he had experienced the tragedy.
After the events, the Civil Guard arrested two people as alleged skippers of the boat, both being sent to pre-trial detention.
