The former Fisheries Councilor of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Marcos Páez, and the skipper of the environmental surveillance boat of the Chinijo Archipelago, Jeremías Cabrera, have met again. This time the setting was not the waters surrounding the islets north of Lanzarote, but the Arrecife courts. This Tuesday was the trial to resolve the incident that took place on April 1 at the Puerto Naos bar around nine o'clock at night.
According to Marcos Páez, the "fight" began when Jeremías uttered various insults and threats, such as "shitty politician" or "I'm going to get you out of the way." According to the former Fisheries Councilor, the guard lunged at his body twice, throwing him to the ground and slapping him all over his body, even breaking his lip. On the other hand, Jeremías says that he was at the bar when Páez approached and he replied that he did not want to talk. According to his testimony, at that moment Marcos Páez grabbed him from behind, threw him to the ground and punched him in the chest and face.
Two different and contradictory versions that the prosecutor has classified as a "fight" in which both parties participated as aggressors. For this reason, he has requested fines for those who are at the same time complainants and defendants: for Marcos Páez he has requested six euros a day for one month for assault, plus compensation of 1,800 euros to Jeremías for the injuries caused. As for the latter, he would have to pay a fine of four euros a day for one month and compensate Páez with 240 euros.
For his part, Marcos Páez's lawyer requests, in addition to what was set by the prosecutor, twenty days at a rate of six euros a day for a misdemeanor of insult, as well as the free acquittal of his client, since according to the lawyer "there was no intention to attack but only responded to an attack." The other party has requested a sentence to Páez of 45 days of fine at six euros a day since "Jeremías was the victim and who suffered most of the injuries." He has also requested compensation for the sick leave of the guard. The trial has been adjourned for sentencing.
EVIDENCE AND TESTIMONY
Among the evidence presented during the hearing, Jeremías Cabrera's lawyer provided an injury report that includes bruises, a hemorrhage, and a superficial erosion in the left eye, which caused the surveillance boat skipper to remain on leave for seventy days. Marcos Páez showed at the exit what he claimed was the scar of his "broken lip", although this injury was not included in the medical report.
The testimonies of the witnesses have not provided new data. Both Narciso Pérez and Tomás Machín have stated that they saw the fight, but not the causes of it. Both deny that they heard insults from Jeremías Cabrera, and agree in pointing out that it was Marcos Páez who approached the place where he was, something that according to the former Fisheries Councilor was normal, because at that moment he was heading "towards the exit of the bar".
THREATS
At the end of the trial, Jeremías Cabrera stated that he feels "threatened." "Marcos Páez gets his wires crossed, it's not the first time this has happened. There have been insults and threats, although it wasn't him directly, as on this occasion, but it was his friends who went after me, they send me messages and say they are going to hurt me, but that cannot be proven in any court," explained the skipper of the Surveillance boat.
Jeremías Cabrera continues to work for the Environment area of the Cabildo of Lanzarote. However, this position has brought him more than one conflict. "For three years I have not been able to go to La Santa and it is my own town, they threaten me for taking the nets, and they are friends of Marcos Páez," explains Cabrera.
BACKGROUND
The relationship between Marcos Páez and Jeremías Cabrera has never been friendly. This has been expressed by the former Fisheries Councilor during the hearing and has been confirmed later by the guard. "We have reported Marcos Páez at least four times", Cabrera explained. "It's normal that he's tired of me." Exactly one year ago, on September 12, 2006, the former Fisheries Councilor was reported for shellfish harvesting without a license and on a prohibited day, as well as for collecting three times more limpets than allowed in the waters of the Chinijo Archipelago. This news, which came to public opinion, further clouded the tense relationship between the two.
ACN Press
