Sentence Confirmed
A Spanish regional court this morning confirmed a controversial ruling that cleared five men of gang- raping a young woman during Pamplona’s San Fermin festival in the so-called “Wolf Pack” case, which caused protests across the country.
The Navarra court confirmed a nine-year prison sentence for the lesser crime of sexual assault.
The ruling, which can now be appealed in the Supreme Court, saw the men released on bail in June on a legal technicality.
All five men, who include a former policeman and a former soldier, paid 6,000 euros in bail though their release led to further protests and concern across the political spectrum with pledges to revise the penal system’s response to such charges.
The state prosecutor had originally asked for sentences of more than 20 years each for rape
Migrants
A government report published yesterday showed the number of irregular migrants entering Spanish territory, by land and sea, has trebled compared last year’s figures.
According to a report from the Ministry of Interior, the number of migrants arriving across the Mediterranean totaled 59,048 of which 52,795 traveled by boat, compared to 19,924 during the same period last year.
Cocaine
Spanish police have seized a large shipment of 2,875 kilograms of cocaine that had been landed on Gran Canaria.
17 suspects were arrested in a police operation that was conducted with the cooperation of the tax authority.
Spanish Exports
SPAIN will now export an expanded range of pork products and table grapes to China following an agreement made during President Xi Jinping’s visit last month.
Last year Spain became the first exporter of pork to China with exports worth €574 million.
the recent signing will expand the range of products to include fresh meat and cured products such as ham, shoulder, loin and sausage.
China reportedly consumes almost 50 per cent of all the pork products produced worldwide which accounts for two thirds of the total consumption of meat in the diet of Chinese consumers.
Until now Spain could only export citrus fruits.
Growth.
Spain’s service sector, grew in November at the same rate registered in October.
Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of service companies stood at 54.0 in November, unchanged from October and beating forecasts.
Spanish gross domestic product grew 2.5 percent year on year in the third quarter and is expected to end the year with growth of around 2.6 percent, down from over 3 percent in the last three years.