In a ruling issued this Friday, the Provincial Court sentenced two young Algerians to two years and nine months in prison each on charges of leading a people-smuggling operation. They were accused of guiding a small migrant boat intercepted last December at sea, which carried eleven other migrants from Algeria toward Alicante, one of them a minor.
The sentence was delivered in a non-public session by the presiding judge of the First Section after the two defendants admitted guilt to the crime of facilitating illegal immigration and accepted the penalties requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutor indicated that although the defendants were part of a lower tier of the organization, the verdicts may serve as a warning to deter similar crimes and reduce recurrences through deterrent penalties, especially when agreements with the defense are in place.
Both defendants have been held in preventive custody since December 29, the day after authorities from the National Police Alicante Unit against Migration Networks and Document Forgeries identified the pair as boat captains, aided by the testimony of one of the migrants who traveled aboard the vessel and testified under protected status.
According to the prosecution file, which both defendants accepted in the courtroom of the First Section, the youths acted in collaboration with other organizers who remained on shore. Aiming to gain a financial advantage, the defendants allegedly took part in managing a precarious vessel that departed from the Algerian coast bound for Alicante.
The prosecution notes that their actions directly facilitated clandestine immigration into Spain by all passengers lacking the necessary administrative authorizations for entry and stay, as stated in the public accusation.
Crossing
The small boat departed from the Algerian coast shortly after three in the morning on December 27. During the journey, the defendants took turns to steer and command the vessel, which carried about ten men and a minor.
The evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor indicated an evident risk to the migrants’ health and safety, as the craft used was unsuitable for such a voyage. The boat measured roughly seven meters in length and was powered by a 60 horsepower outboard motor. It lacked oars, safety equipment, life jackets for all aboard, tools for repair in case of breakdown, and signaling lights to indicate its position.
Additionally, the migrants were surrounded by fuel drums and did not possess communication devices for emergencies, nor any protection from sun, wind, or rain.
The two convicted youths did not hold any license or certification to operate the boat and did not provide drinking water or food to the migrants, thereby risking the life and well-being of those on board.
The vessel’s precarious condition led to its being sighted about 60 nautical miles from Alicante in the late afternoon of December 27. The Salvamar Leo rescue vessel from Salvamento Marítimo assisted the boat and escorted the 13 people on board to the port of Alicante, including the two defendants who were later convicted.
[Citation: Public Prosecution Office records; transmission of testimonies and court verdicts reported by the judiciary as part of the case file; authorities from the Alicante UCRIF unit provided the initial identifications.]