Well Fall Charges
A COURT in Malaga has opened a negligent manslaughter investigation into the death of two-year-old Julen who was killed when he fell down a well.
According to Spanish media, officials will examine two leads; whether the owner of the land Julen died on, or the man who bored the hole, Antonio Sanchez, were negligent, and how Julen came to be buried under large quantities of soil after his fall.
The negligent manslaughter charge carries a sentence of one to four years in prison for serious cases, or a fine in more minor instances.
Anyone found to be at fault could also be liable for compensation to Julen’s parents, as well as for the costs of the rescue operation, thought to be millions of Euros.
After the Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) confirmed the hole Julen fell down had been bored without the necessary permissions, police say they will focus their investigation on whether Antonio Sanchez attempted to seal the well as he claims, and whether the land’s owner removed any covering.
The second arm of the investigation will use witness accounts from those present when Julen fell, including his parents, his father’s cousin, the owner of the land, and two walkers who came to the family’s aid.
Gibraltar
Spain will insist on excluding Gibraltar from all agreements between Britain and the European Union once Britain has left the Block, Spanish diplomatic sources said yesterday.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said Spain intends to revive its bid for shared sovereignty over Gibraltar after Brexit.
Gibraltar is due to leave the EU together with Britain, but Madrid’s claim to it has been boosted by the fact that 97 percent of its citizens voted to remain in the EU in Britain’s 2016 referendum on leaving Europe.
Migrant Children
FIVE members of a gang accused of kidnapping migrant children from shelter homes in Spain and demanding ransoms from their families in Morocco have been arrested.
The Guardia Civil believes the Spanish and Moroccan men have kidnapped at least 20 children.
During raids on two properties in Cadiz, officers found a young person who had been reported missing from a nearby migrant centre.