Canary Islands court sentences 2 smugglers to 9 years in prison over migrants' death

Two smugglers were each sentenced to 9 years in prison for being responsible for the deaths of 9 migrants heading from Morocco’s southern province to the Canary Islands in March 2021, according to InfoMigrants.

The two defendants, a Senegal national and a Gambian national accepted the charges in the final sentencing hearing on Wednesday, January 26.

Moroccan officials rescued the migrants four days after the boat left Dakhla, Morocco’s southern province.

Prior to departure, the passengers have been waiting for the right moment to embark on the journey for several days, while basic necessities such as food and water were already scarce.

Each of the two defendants received a 3-year sentence for crimes against foreigners and was given an additional 1-year sentence for each of the 6 counts of reckless homicide, with these sentences to be served consecutively.

Further investigation revealed that two of the victims jumped into the sea of their own free will, so the charges were not brought against them. The Spanish EFE news agency described the act as a desperate act intended “to put an end to their agony.”

The victims included two children, a 2-year-old boy who was reportedly thrown overboard; and a 2-year-old girl who died of dehydration in the hospital.

A Spanish court in La Palma ordered the defendants to pay the parents of the two children 118,524 euros each.

The dangerous Atlantic Route

Thousands of migrants make the deadly journey from northern Africa to the Spin’s Canary Islands every year.

There was a peak in arrivals on the Canary Islands recorded in 2020. Critical levels remained high last year, and they are expected to remain high in 2022. In recent years, the number of people who have died at sea en route to the Canaries has dramatically increased.

According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, the number of deaths at sea in 2021 doubled from 2020 despite a slight decrease in the numbers of people arriving.