UN Consulted for Case of Underage Individual Detained for Five Months

A 16-year-old, identified as KC, has spent 158 days behind bars in Tenerife II prison, on allegations of leading his cayuco. Over five months in an adult correctional facility, with little comprehension of the circumstances leading to his imprisonment. The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Provincial Court declined his release, citing ‘doubts’ regarding the authenticity of his birth certificate, despite validation from the Gambian Consulate, confirming his minority status. The birth certificate indicates his birth in November 2007, with registration in January 2008. Subsequent to this denial, his legal representatives have approached the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, highlighting violations of child protection protocols and legal discrepancies since KC’s arrival in the Canary Islands. Not long ago, this same UN entity safeguarded a Senegalese minor detained for nearly three months in Gran Canaria for allegedly captaining a canoe, urging Spain to adhere to ensuring minors are not incarcerated alongside adults.