The owners of the fishing vessel Jabrana II, with port in Sidi Ifni (Morocco), have filed a lawsuit in Lanzarote against two of their workers, who took advantage of a routine work outing to head for this island, where they were rescued on July 29 by Salvamento Marítimo off the coast of Charco del Palo.
The fishermen, identified as Abderrazar A. and Ahmed A., captain and fisherman of the boat, the former having a ten-year professional relationship with the shipowners, went out to fish on July 26 from the port of Sidi Ifni, according to the text of the lawsuit, which EFE has accessed.
To do this, one of the owners gave them the equivalent of 93 euros, an outboard motor, and 120 liters of gasoline. The fishermen left the third occupant of the boat ashore, as reflected in the crew list included in the complaint.
They reported the events in Morocco
Abdelghani El Asfar and Abdeljabbar Laaouina, owners of the boat, reported the events in Morocco, before the Royal Gendarmerie of Sidi Ifni, stating that the only authorized purpose was to carry out an ordinary fishing trip and return.
Subsequently, they have filed the lawsuit before the Investigating Section of the Court of First Instance of Arrecife through the lawyer Mouna Sikabi El Asri, of the Bar Association of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The owners attribute a value of more than 56,000 euros to the boat and set a settlement for the sale of fish, between January and July of this year, of almost two tons, with sales of 13,600 euros, "data that show that it was not an abandoned or inactive object, but a productive instrument whose deprivation generates daily damage and loss of profit," they argue.
The day after the fishermen's arrival in Lanzarote, the shipowners identified them, along with the boat, in photographs from EFE of the rescue moment, through a publication on Facebook.
The shipowners are unaware of the location of the vessel and under what title it is being held, and they consider that due to its size and "because police, port, maritime, or emergency services have presumably intervened, there is a real risk of transfer, abandonment, deterioration, or destruction."
They request the identification, immobilization, and conservation of the vessel, the motor, the tackle, and other assets.
In case of not being able to recover it, they request compensation from the fishermen for its value, 56,000 euros, and lost profits of 55 euros per day.
In the lawsuit, it is stated that, according to the ubiquity criterion adopted by the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court, the crime can be considered committed in any of the places where it has taken place.
"The arrival in Lanzarote, the possible apprehension of the defendants, and the location of the main item justify the filing in Arrecife," reasons the text of the lawsuit.
The defense of the Moroccan owners requests that international judicial assistance be processed in accordance with the bilateral agreement "in order to incorporate the entire Moroccan file and receive statements from owners and witnesses if it is not carried out by videoconference from Spain."
If it is deemed that the main criminal prosecution corresponds to Morocco, they request that the legally possible conservation and restitution measures be maintained and that bilateral judicial cooperation be activated.
Among the diligence requested in Arrecife is the investigation of the domicile and current whereabouts of the defendants and that the Red Cross be officially requested to report if it provided assistance to those individuals and indicate the resource, entity, or device to which they were subsequently referred, as well as the location or contact details that can legally be provided for them to be questioned for the crime of misappropriation.
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