The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, has requested that the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands "urgently arrange" the expulsion from national territory of the three immigrants who disembarked in the capital of Lanzarote, and who allegedly committed a rape against a woman on the raft on which they were traveling from Morocco.
The mayor of the capital of Lanzarote recalled, after learning of the recent decision by the judge who released these three immigrants of African origin, that the Canary Islands Prosecutor's Office stated that "this crime was committed in international waters," even though they were traveling to the Canary Islands from Moroccan waters.
The raft with these individuals, on which the rape of the woman occurred, was towed from Moroccan waters to the port of Arrecife. The Alawite country claimed to lack the means for this rescue and requested that Maritime Rescue vessels go to their aid.
The mayor has emphasized that even in this intervention by Spanish teams, it is surprising that, despite acknowledging that the rescue took place in Moroccan international waters, the immigrants were disembarked in Arrecife on September 16th. When the most reasonable and operational course of action would have been their transfer to Moroccan ports due to their proximity and the place from which the vessel departed.
A judge for Violence against Women in Arrecife has released the three men arrested for the alleged rape of a woman during the journey by raft from the Moroccan coast to Lanzarote. The decision became known after the Prosecutor's Office itself recommended their release, understanding that Spanish courts lack jurisdiction because the reported events occurred in international waters.
Background on the registration of stowaway immigrants disembarked in Arrecife
The mayor of Arrecife has requested speed from the Spanish Government in this deportation. Yonathan de León recalls that in August of last year, a tugboat disembarked 49 stowaways in Arrecife who had departed from Senegal. The ship, flying an EU flag, evaded a bail and did not return to Senegal.
On the contrary, the mayor of Arrecife recalls, those people were disembarked and requested political asylum in Lanzarote. The Court of Instruction number 3 of Arrecife ordered the release of those stowaways. The magistrate denied the request for provisional detention in a Center for the Internment of Foreigners (CIE) made by the Government Sub-delegation, "understanding that there are less restrictive measures to ensure their location while their files are processed".
For the mayor, "during these months, the Government of Pedro Sánchez activated the regularization in Spain of irregular immigrants, to whom this group of stowaways was welcomed - as has become known". "They are registered in Spain and have health cards, a situation that can arise again with these three immigrants, alleged perpetrators of that rape of a woman in the same boat with which they arrived in Lanzarote," denounced the mayor of the capital of Lanzarote.
The plenary session of the Arrecife City Council approved "to urge the Government of Spain to guarantee the effective return of those who have illegally accessed Spanish territory."
In that same motion, the Arrecife City Council has demanded that the Government of Spain "reinforce the borders to protect our territory and national sovereignty." The plenary session approved, with the votes of the PP and the Mixed group, the censure of the Government of Spain for the "insufficiency of its response to what happened in Ceuta and the demand for accountability."
The mayor Yonathan de León concluded his statements to several media outlets on Monday morning by warning that "Lanzarote could be the next Ceuta. The Government of Spain does not control, nor monitor, nor protect the land and maritime borders of Spain, as is being seen."
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