POLICE in Spain have arrested 19 alleged individuals smugglers accused of torturing and murdering as much as 50 would-be migrants on board a small boat heading from Africa’s impoverished western coast to the Canary Islands.
The ramshackle picket vessel – referred to as a cayuco – made landfall at Arguineguin on Gran Canaria’s southern coast on August 25 after Spanish coastguards rescued the 65 ft-long boat and its passengers off the African metropolis of Dakhla in Western Sahara, over 250 miles from the Canaries.
The boat reportedly left Senegal with round 300 passengers on board, however solely 248 survivors have been dropped at shore by Spanish authorities.
An investigation was subsequently launched after a few of the vessel’s passengers instructed police about mass executions on board, with fellow migrants reportedly tortured and shot by individuals smugglers controlling the boat.
According to witnesses, the gang of individuals smugglers accused different passengers of witchcraft at any time when one thing went improper throughout the eleven-day voyage, akin to an engine problem, a scarcity of meals and even tough seas – with at the very least 50 migrants allegedly thrown overboard.
On Wednesday, police stated 19 suspects had been detained in relation to the alleged murders.
At least 16 of the arrested people are believed to be from Senegal, with at the very least one coming from Gambia.
A spokesperson for the Policia Nacional in Gran Canaria stated: “Policia Nacional officers have arrested 19 individuals on suspicion of murders and torture on board a cayuco rescues on August 24.
“Several migrants who have been travelling on board spoke of murders, wounding and torture dedicated throughout the crossing.
“The disappearance of at the very least 50 individuals thrown into the ocean by the alleged individuals smugglers can also be being investigated.
“All of these held, who have been travelling in the identical boat, have been remanded in custody after showing in courtroom.
“The investigation factors to the vessel having left Senegal initially with round 300 individuals on board, with the estimated disappearance of at the very least 50 migrants throughout the eleven days the journey apparently lasted.
“The boat, fabricated from wooden and round 65 ft lengthy, was positioned adrift by Spanish Coast Guard vessel Guardamar Urania, which took the 248 occupants to Arguineguin.
“According to statements taken from witnesses, a number of of the migrants arrested not solely piloted the cayuco, but in addition assaulted dozens of individuals, hitting them and mistreating them in a number of methods.
“In some instances they threw migrants whereas they have been nonetheless alive overboard into the ocean in addition to refusing to assist those that by chance fell into the water.
“The witnesses level to the disappearance of round 30 individuals thrown overboard, though investigators consider greater than 50 individuals died or disappeared.
“The trigger of those deaths, in accordance with the witness testimony gathered, is that they’re allegedly associated to superstitions that recognized as ‘witches’ sure individuals on the boat when incidents occurred throughout the crossing, akin to engine failures, lack of meals or dangerous climate.
“Likewise homicides have been documented for the straightforward cause that some individuals protested or confirmed their unconformity with the journey circumstances.
“The 19 suspects recognized are being investigated on suspicion of individuals trafficking, murder, wounding and torture.”
The suspects, presently in pre-trial detention, are set to seem at a courtroom in San Bartolome de Tirajana.
The passage from Africa’s western coast to the Canaries – an archipelago positioned over 800 miles from mainland Spain however simply 67 miles off the African coast – is extensively considered the world’s most harmful migration route.
Last 12 months, practically 47,000 migrants reached the Canary Islands, in accordance with information from the Interior Ministry.
Shocking figures revealed that 4,808 deaths have been recorded within the first 5 months of 2024 alone, equating to 33 deaths a day or one each 45 minutes.
Arrivals to the Canaries have slowed this 12 months, falling 53% from January 1 to September 15 in contrast with the identical interval final 12 months – with many consultants pointing to the deal prime minister Pedro Sanchez struck with Mauritania, a key level of departure for African migrants, final 12 months.
The bilateral settlement, signed final August, included additional funding to assist the poverty-stricken nation’s border management in an try to ‘disincentive’ these trying to make the hazardous journey west.
According to the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid, harmful small boat crossings within the Atlantic Ocean have surged amid political and social instability within the Sahel area, the place there have been ten coups in seven international locations in simply the final 4 years.
In Mali, a army regime battling an Islamist insurgency has provoked a mass exodus from the nation, with many taking to the Atlantic looking for a greater life.
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