The High Court urges the TSJ to rule on the release of the two convicts, who were announced on WhatsApp and Facebook
The Supreme Court has annulled the sentence that keeps two Algerian pateristas in prison whom the Provincial Court sentenced to two years in prison for enriching themselves by transferring compatriots and Moroccans in an irregular situation to Spain.
The two defendants, after reaching an agreement in accordance with the Prosecutor’s Office, were sentenced to two years in prison. The Court, however, rejected the defense’s request for that sentence to be suspended and they could leave jail. The TSJ rejected the appeal presented by the pateristas’ lawyers and the Prosecutor’s Office without knowing the substance of the matter, but the Supreme Court now orders that resolution be annulled and that the Murcian court rule on the matter.
Up to 3,200 euros per trip
According to the sentence, the defendants, who accepted the facts in court, charged up to 3,200 euros to each immigrant who wanted to enroll in one of their trips. To attract the crew members of the barges, they used networks such as Facebook or WhatsApp through which they disseminated videos of the trips and details of the journey.
The two convicted have been in provisional prison since December 17, 2020. Days before they were intercepted off the coast of Cartagena when they tried to reach land aboard a small boat with 9 immigrants on board. According to the resolution, the barge departed from the Algerian coast driven by a man, who could not be identified, who had been hired by one of the defendants. However, after a few minutes, he returned to shore due to the bad state of the sea.
It was then that the defendant himself, who prior to starting the journey had charged each of the immigrants who traveled the approximate amount of 650,000 Algerian dinars (about 3,200 euros), took charge of skippering the boat to Spain. The other defendant was in charge of helping, handling a compass that they used to orient themselves and to bail out water, both of them taking charge of refueling.
The boat, according to the sentence, did not have the capacity to carry nine people, and was not authorized to travel 120 nautical miles (193 km), nor to withstand wind and wave conditions, much less with so many people on board. Nor did it have the minimum security elements, there were no life jackets, no flares, no signaling beacons or first aid kit, nor did the occupants of the boat have food and water during the journey. This, together with the refueling system using drums with the engine running, seriously endangered the life and integrity of all those who traveled on board.
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