The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands has confirmed the sentence that last May condemned to four years in prison the skipper of a small boat that arrived in Arrieta in October 2021, with 24 immigrants on board.
In his appeal, the defense questioned that the first instance ruling did not respond to the allegation regarding the absence of intent on the part of the accused, who is 25 years old and stated that his intention "was not to favor illegal immigration, but to provide himself with a better future, fleeing the situation in his country."
"Morocco is not exactly a country at war, nor unstable, nor one from which one has to flee," the TSJC has now responded, which considers the allegation "banal."
In addition, it points out that the sentences are not obliged to "respond in detail to all the arguments or allegations contained in the writings of the parties", although in any case it considers "irrelevant the motivation or final intention of the author".
"The final intention of the appellant to flee his country in search of a better future is the purpose of every illegal immigrant, but this does not imply absence of intent," the ruling insists.
In this regard, it points out that in Spain illegal immigration is not penalized ("unlike so many other legislations of other countries", he emphasizes), but "the action of favoring it" is, which is what he considers that the accused did as skipper of the boat.
On this point, the defense also questioned that there was not enough evidence that he was the one who skippered the boat. However, the ruling refers to the statement of a police officer who intervened in the proceedings, and who in a video recorded by one of the immigrants who participated in the trip, identified the accused handling the boat.
Thus, it confirms the conviction for a crime against the rights of foreign citizens, since the ruling states that the "precariousness" of the boat - which, like all small boats, lacked security systems or life jackets - put "the lives of the people traveling on board in danger".
The ruling also points out that "other people" would have participated in the organization of the trip, but have not been "identified", so it only condemns this young man. Now, to serve the sentence, the time he has already spent in prison will be deducted, since he has been in provisional prison since October 22, 2021.