The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Tenerife has imposed a three-year prison sentence on a man for considering him responsible for a crime for acting as the skipper of a canoe that arrived in Tenerife with 91 people, 13 of them minors, end of 2020.
The sentence was accepted by agreement between the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which lowered its initial requests for sentence, and the defendant’s defense, who is currently imprisoned in Almería, and who therefore had to intervene by videoconference.
In this way, it is considered proven that the man, along with five other men already convicted of the same crime through final sentences handed down a year earlier, agreed with the organizers of the trip who stayed on land to direct a cayuco from Senegal. to the Canary Islands
In the imposition of the penalties, the risk of the journey was taken into account and that all the occupants lacked the necessary authorizations to enter and stay in Spain.
It is also taken for granted that the defendants agreed to share out the essential tasks in order to steer the boat in such a way that four were in charge of managing the rudder and engine in turns and another also took charge of the GPS in order to set the course.
The now condemned man had the task of maintaining order during the voyage every time an altercation occurred, giving instructions to the occupants and distributing and rationing food.
The trip was made in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the overcrowding of travelers even more serious, among whom it was impossible to establish any safety distance and they were not provided with masks.
The vessel is described as “absolutely inadequate” due to its dimensions of 23 meters in length and was powered by two 40 and 60 horsepower engines, one of which broke down, which was another factor that put life, health and life at risk. physical integrity of the occupants who paid up to 400 euros.
The ship lacked essential security, stability and watertightness measures to face sea conditions with large waves, there were no lifeguards, tools to repair faults, positioning lights, communication instruments or means to protect themselves from the sun and wind.
Under these conditions, they traveled 1,600 kilometers in about eight days until around six in the morning on November 10, 2020, they arrived in Los Cristianos.
The convicted employer assured that he carried out these acts motivated by the situation of hardship in which he lived in his country of origin.
The convicts were identified by some of the travelers as responsible for directing the journey, after being interrogated by the Civil Guard, so they were immediately remanded in custody.
