The Sixth Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has judged this Wednesday morning in Arrecife three alleged boat skippers, accused of a crime against the rights of foreign citizens for transferring 29 migrants from Morocco to Lanzarote. The case has been seen for sentencing.
The accused Mohammed, Achik, and Brahim, all of Moroccan origin and without criminal records, have been in provisional prison since July 22, 2021. The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested eight years in prison for each of them, special disqualification for the right to passive suffrage during the term of the sentence, and payment of the trial costs. Meanwhile, the three defense lawyers have requested the acquittal of the accused or, failing that, the reduction of the sentence to two years in prison.
At the beginning of the trial, the three defense lawyers requested the nullity of the judicial procedure, considering that there had been an alleged affectation of the right to defense of the accused. For their part, the magistrates of the Chamber classified the defense's petition as an "act of procedural bad faith" and, once deliberated, decided to continue with the hearing.
The precarious vessel in which they were traveling departed from a small coastal point, located between the Moroccan cities of Safi and Agadir, and arrived around 5:00 p.m. in Órzola, Lanzarote, on July 19, 2021. Upon arrival on land, it was attended by a patrol of the Civil Guard. After that, the Foreigners Brigade of the National Police initiated the affiliation procedure, and the boat's navigators remained under police surveillance for 72 hours.
At that time, the agents carried out the proceedings and interrogated the passengers in order to detect if the skipper of the boat was among them. During the hearing, the Public Prosecutor's Office maintained that the accused "would have acted, having agreed among themselves and for the sake of foreign profit," to bring those 29 people to the Canary Islands, knowing that they were violating the rules on entry into the national territory. In the same way, they emphasized that "the boat lacked any security system, as well as life jackets, food, or water, endangering the lives of the immigrants."

Alleged involvement of each of the accused
The Public Ministry accuses Mohammed of being the alleged skipper of the boat and places him driving the precarious vessel during the journey. Regarding the possible involvement of Achik, the Public Prosecutor's Office gives him the role of assistant to the skipper and insists that he would have taken charge of the vessel, alternating with Mohammed during his moments of rest. Likewise, and always according to the accusation, Brahim would have been in charge of organizing the trip.
To reach this conclusion, the Prosecutor's Office relies on the versions provided by two protected witnesses of the remaining 26 who arrived on the island in the boat. In addition, it is joined by the proceedings collected by the agents of the Foreigners Brigade of the National Police and an expert from the Corps who emptied the mobile terminals of one of the accused. For their part, the defense called Achik's girlfriend, who was traveling on the boat with him, and a passenger on the boat to testify.
According to Mohammed's defense lawyer, accused of being the skipper, the man was traveling on the ship with his minor son, without a mobile phone or GPS locator, and with 1,650 euros. Regarding the origin of that money, which now remains confiscated, the accused stated during the trial that it came from his savings, which he planned to use in Spain to support himself and his son, who suffers from epilepsy, during the first few days. For the moment, while he remains in prison, his son is being cared for in a juvenile center.
"What skipper member of the mafia brings his sick son on a boat for four days?" added Mohammed's defense lawyer
"What skipper member of the mafia brings his sick son on a boat for four days?" added Mohammed's defense lawyer during his last intervention in the trial. Mohammed's defense emphasizes that none of the witnesses assured that the accused had received money for that trip, and also insists that the case has been based "on two testimonies out of 29 passengers and that one of them did not even directly point to his defendant." Likewise, he wanted to record that there were at least three people with the same name.
One of the agents of the Foreigners Brigade of the National Police who acted on the day of the rescue of the vessel declared that he did not remember whether or not Mohammed came with his son or if he was carrying a mobile phone, and he did confirm that he was not carrying a GPS device. He also did not see the boat, "I know, from testimonies of witnesses, that food and water were lacking for the journey," he narrated during his intervention in the trial.
The accused of helping the alleged skipper, Achik, asserted that he did not drive the vessel at any time and that he had his girlfriend lying between his legs, so he could not get up. "She and I paid like the rest," he defended himself. During his statement, the defense lawyer showed him one of the photographs collected in the police report. "Do you recognize yourself in those photographs?" the lawyer questioned, and Achik insisted that it was not him. "It's curious because he has less beard upon arrival than at the beginning of the trip," the defense concluded, suggesting a possible confusion in the police proceedings.
As a defense witness, Achik's girlfriend at that time connected by video call. The young Moroccan woman stated that she was dizzy and spent most of the journey sleeping, so she does not remember anything about the crossing. What she did relate is that she paid for the trip "like the rest of the members of the vessel."
Finally, Brahim testified as the alleged person in charge of organizing the trip. The Public Prosecutor's Office accused Brahim of having organized the trip because after emptying his mobile phone, they had extracted a screenshot of a video call in which Brahim was seen talking to another person and in the background an application that announced the state of the sea. "I only consulted the state of the sea because my cousin had died on a boat trip," Brahim defended himself.
"I only consulted the state of the sea because my cousin had died on a boat trip," Brahim defended himself.
In addition, one of the two protected witnesses stated that he had paid Brahim one and a half million dirhams, the Moroccan currency, the equivalent of 1,500 euros, to make the trip. However, his lawyer insisted that the narration of the protected witnesses "incurred in different contradictions" and that they did not agree between the one given at the police headquarters and the judicial one. Likewise, he stressed that a part of the explanations of both "coincided in points and commas."
Brahim in his intervention assured that he did not receive money, that he did not perform the duties of skipper, nor did he carry a GPS, nor did he receive instructions to navigate. According to his version, he learned of the existence of the trip through a Facebook group. Brahim's lawyer insisted that her defendant did not organize the trip and that he found out a day before they were going to leave for Spain, a statement that contradicts that of the second protected witness, who assures that he contacted "a certain Brahim from Morocco and paid him money."
Now it will be the Chamber of the Sixth Section of the Provincial Court of Arrecife that issues a sentence.